Jean Henri Dunant
by Kaleab from San Diego
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"Between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, the American Red Cross responded to 21 international crises; contributed more than $8.4 million in financial aid"("World Red Cross Red Crescent Day in Action"). To this day the Red Cross is saving lives by providing disaster relief, support to military families, health and safety training and education, lifesaving blood, and international services all thanks to the man Jean Henri Dunant who originally founded the Red Cross. The great humanitarian, writer, philanthropist, and banker Dunant was born in Geneva, Switzerland and lived between May 8, 1828 and October 30, 1910 was best known as "the founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)," but Dunant also spent his entire life helping others in need ("Jean Henri Dunant"-Gale 1998). As a young man he was responsible for the growth of the Young Men's Christian Academy (YMCA) and became one of their co-founders and at age 26 he went into banking eventually becoming a president of a company in Algeria that capitalized at 100,000,000 francs ("Henry Dunant - Biographical"). After witnessing the bloodiest battle of the 19th century during 1859 in Solferino, Dunant set aside his banking career to write books on battle's cruelty to humanity and to form the ICRC with support of countries and eventually with some friends he got 16 countries to sign the Geneva Convention of 1864 ("Jean Henri Dunant"-Gale 2007). Although in 1867 his company went bankrupt and Dunant was kicked out of the ICRC despite his efforts and he was forced to move from town to town looking for work until he settled down in Heiden, Switzerland where in 1896 he was rediscovered by a journalist where he was immediately showered with prizes for his works, one of which was the first ever 1901 Nobel Peace Prize. He spent none of the money on himself and on October 30, 1910 he died ("Henry Dunant - Biographical") Heroes are people who are selfless and go above and beyond while inspiring others to be like themselves and change to make the world better. Jean Henri Dunant is truly a hero because he put others before himself and sought to help them in every way possible, he did great humanitarian works that saved many lives, and he always did everything selflessly and never gave up on his beliefs even when things got rough.One of Dunant's heroic traits is that he constantly put others before himself and seeks to help them in every way possible. Throughout his life, Dunant put others before himself for instance; "At the age of 26 years old, Dunant began a position with one of Geneva's largest banking houses in North Africa and Sicily. While knowing this position would produce his income, Dunant continued to work for charitable causes and established a YMCA outpost in Algeria" ("Jean Henri Dunant"-Gale 2007). With a good income Dunant had no reason to continue his charitable cause, but yet he still did. He set aside his job so he could help people even though he would lose money because he cared for other people more than himself. Another essential example of how Dunant put others before himself is when, "Dunant tirelessly tended the wounded, organized supplies, and wrote letters to military headquarters, as well as to personal friends in Geneva, asking them to send clothes, bandages, medication, chamomile to cleanse the wounds, and tobacco" ("Jean Henri Dunant"-Gale 1998). After Dunant witnessed a battlefield tragedy at Solferino in 1859 with 40,000 casualties he diligently helped and sought help for the soldier. When he could have simply walked away from the horrific scene he put other people's needs first because he cared more for them than himself and saw them as brothers not enemies. Not only did Dunant make caring sacrifices that proved that he put others before him, he also went above and beyond by changing the world through his humanitarian acts.
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| (protestantedigital.com ()) |
Another essential heroic trait of Dunant is that he did many great humanitarian acts that saved many lives and changed society for the better. Dunant's trend of great humanitarian acts started in 1862 when, "Shortly after Solferino's unforgettable plight, Dunant wrote Un Souvenir de Solferino (A Memory of Solferino, 1862) where he told of battle's cruelty to humanity [...] His book received praise from journalists and Europe's high society" ("Jean Henri Dunant"-Gale 2007). A Memory of Solferino spread Dunant's ideas around the world and got many countries to change their beliefs. Dunant's books changed the way some people acted and it also got Dunant reputation that started a chain reaction because it allowed him to successfully do greater humanitarian works. Dunant was a man who dreamed to be able to help everyone and not have them be afraid, "Thus, in October of 1863, part of Dunant's dream had come true. The Committee of the Red Cross was founded. The following year, in the Geneva Convention of 1864, the recommendations expressed were fully accepted and integrated into the resolutions. A first, important step toward a new humanitarian international law had been taken" (Commire). One of Dunant's dreams was to create the ICRC and in 1863 he succeed, changing the world for the better. Dunant's greatest humanitarian work is the ICRC because it saved many lives even still today and it helped humanize war. He also did many more great acts, but the greatest part of Dunant in those times is when things didn't go his way he continued to hold on.Dunant's greatest heroic trait is that he is selfless and true to his beliefs even when times got rough for him. In this quote, Commire provides details about Dunant, "Devoting himself to his humanitarian work, he had neglected his business obligations for years. The honors that were paid to him could not avert financial bankruptcy and the loss of his reputation" (Commire). Dunant was so committed to helping others and the ICRC that his banking career (his main source of income) went bankrupt resulting in him struggling to survive. Dunant beliefs consisted of putting others before him and even when things got rough for him he stayed true to those beliefs and never expected anything from it because he is selfless. This quote supports the idea that Dunant is selfless and true to his beliefs as can be seen in, "After 1895 when he was once more rediscovered, the world heaped prizes and awards upon him. [...] Dunant had not spent any of the prize monies he had received" ("Henry Dunant - Biographical"). After the public heard what he did for the world they gave him tons of prizes (one of which was the 1901 Nobel Peace Prize), yet everything that Dunant got he gave away. Most people that struggle to survive (like Dunant did) would of taken the money for themselves, but Dunant didn't because he is truly selfless and true to his beliefs. Dunant is able to persevere through the tough times and stay selfless and true to his beliefs.
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| (nobelprize.org ()) |
Jean Henri Dunant is truly a hero because he put others before himself and sought to help them in every way possible, he did great humanitarian works that saved many lives, and he always did everything selflessly and never gave up on his beliefs even when things got rough. Dunant was a selfless man who never gave up on his beliefs and he did many great humanitarian acts that saved many people's lives resulting in him winning the first Nobel Peace Prize. I believe that Dunant isn't just an inspiration to me, but to the entire world. He had the ability to rally people to his cause so that they may help people in need; for instance as David Neff stated in his magazine, "Dunant used his organizational gifts at Solferino. He commandeered the biggest church in a nearby village, arranged the wounded for maximum efficiency, purchased a large shipment of linen for bandages, and persuaded local women to care for the injured"(Neff). Dunant also wrote inspirational books that changed the way people saw society; "Dunant's book stirred popular enthusiasm. In 1863, just a year after he published it, he and four friends convened official representatives from 16 nations, who agreed on the key points of Dunant's vision" (Neff). Overall, Dunant did many great things that I believe is an inspiration to us all. Because of his ability to change the world for the better even when it is trying to drag him down, Jean Henri Dunant exemplifies a true definition of a hero.
Work Cited
"Henry Dunant - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 29 Jan 2016.
"Jean Henri Dunant." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 28
Jan. 2016.
"Jean Henri Dunant." Historic World Leaders. Ed. Anne Commire. Detroit: Gale, 1994. Biography in Context.
Web. 4 Feb. 2016.
"Jean Henri Dunant." World of Health. Gale, 2007. Biography in Context. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
Neff, David. "Red Cross bearer: meet the man who humanized war--and still shapes our wartime ideals."
Christianity Today Dec. 2014: 32. Biography in Context. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
"World Red Cross Red Crescent Day in Action." US Newswire 8 May 2008. Research in Context. Web. 3 Feb.
2016.
Page created on 2/13/2016 12:00:00 AM
Last edited 2/13/2016 12:00:00 AM
The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.
Related Links
Nobel Prize
- My hero won the 1901 Nobel Peace Prize
ICRC
- My Hero founded the International Committee of the Red Cross
