Henry Dunant (Nobel)

Henry Dunant, a Swiss humanitarian and businessman, co-founded the Red Cross and became the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. Born to a wealthy Calvinist family in Geneva, Switzerland, Dunant, demonstrated early promise by establishing the Geneva chapter of the YMCA but later faced setbacks ending up dropping out of college. He quickly secured a position at a bank and later pursued various entrepreneurial ventures. While traveling to Italy to seek support from Napoleon III for one of his new business projects, Henry stumbled onto a major battlefield in the war between the French and Austrians which left 40,000 soldiers wounded and suffering on the battlefield without adequate medical care, water or food. Horrified by this scene, He mobilized local villagers to provide aid to the wounded, regardless of their nationality or allegiance, personally tending to their care. As a consequence of this experience, Dunant spearheaded efforts that eventually led to the Geneva Conventions and the founding of the International Red Cross. Reflecting on this pivotal moment his life, Henry remarked: "I was a mere tourist with no part whatever in this great conflict; but it was my rare privilege, through an unusual train of circumstances, to witness the moving scenes that I have resolved to describe." After exploring his potential roles in school, banking and business, how was it that Henry Dunant discovered his own unique role to play in the Christian Story?