Dunant

Dunant is a surname of Swiss origin. The most notable bearer of the name is Henry Dunant (1828–1910), a Swiss businessman and humanitarian who founded the International Committee of the Red Cross and helped establish the Geneva Conventions.

In 1862 Dunant published A Memory of Solferino, a pamphlet describing the suffering of battlefield casualties and proposing the creation of neutral humanitarian aid for wounded soldiers. His ideas contributed to the formation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863 and to the adoption of the first Geneva Convention in 1864. For his humanitarian work, Dunant was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, shared with Frédéric Passy.

The Dunant surname remains relatively uncommon and is most often encountered in Swiss and French contexts. Beyond Henry Dunant, there are few widely recognized figures with the name, and the term Dunant is sometimes used in reference to Red Cross-related institutions or awards named in his honor. The legacy of Dunant is primarily tied to humanitarian activism and the development of international humanitarian law, rather than to a broad set of places or organizations bearing the name.