May 2018: Social Justice Activists Birthdays

Henry Dunant
May 8, 1828 - October 30, 1910 

The opposite of a rags to riches story Henry Dunant was the founder of The International Red Cross an organization set up in the hopes of providing medical access and humanitarian aid. For much of his life Dunant spent his time in a hospice in a small village with in his home of Switzerland. He was born into a noble house, but had decided to live a life surviving his fellow man. While he was not too successful in his private business dealings he was still dedicated to aiding those who needed help. Much of his work was also focused on aiding wounded soldiers. In 1901 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside of Frederic Passy.

Anna Jameson
May 19, 1794 - March 17, 1860

​Anna Jameson was an author and woman’s rights activist from England. She is most famous for her travel memoirs that told of her experiences in a romantic fashion. She was an eloquent writer and was able to immerse herself with the culture that she had traveled too. Much of the world that she had seen was due to the fact of her early career as a governess, her position as a caretaker for children allowed her to see the world more freely. With that in mind she used her knowledge and experiences gained to give lectures on the need to give women an equal opportunity in both education and the workplace. 

Frederic Passy
May 20, 1822 - June 12, 1912 

Frederic Passy alongside Henry Dunant won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. Passy is best known for his university lectures and several essays that he had written for the advancement of free trade in. The university he was known for lecturing at was the University of Montpellier. However, Passy earned his Nobel Prize as an advocate for peace. He wrote several essays on the topic of peace and much of his work was widely recognized in his time. One such example would be the Historique du mouvement de la paix (1905). Defined as the history of the peace movement is a rather lengthy essay on how the world wide peace movement was formed. It was an argument for peace on a worldwide scale and how the movement was going about accomplishing it.