On August 22, 1864, twelve countries signed the First Geneva Convention in Geneva, Switzerland. The Convention created the Red Cross and provided legal protections for personnel, civilians, and facilities engaged in treating the wounded or sick during war.

In June 1859, Henry Dunant was traveling through northern Italy during the battle of Solferino between the French and Austrian armies. Dunant witnessed thousands of wounded soldiers lying in the battlefield left to die without any aid or assistance. Dunant was deeply troubled by the event and made the decision to create a neutral international organization to protect the wounded and those aiding them in times of war. Dunant wrote a book entitled “A memory of Solferino” about the horrors of war and how the world needed to create a society to take care of the wounded in times of war.

Dunant’s idea spread throughout Europe and eventually led to the meeting of many countries to discuss his vision. In 1863, representatives from sixteen countries and four philanthropic institutions gathered at an International Conference in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss Dunant’s ideas. From this conference, the Swiss government agreed to hold a Diplomatic Conference the following year on the same issues.

On this day, August 22, 1864, representatives from twelve countries, including: (1) Belgium, (2) Denmark, (3) France, (4) Italy, (5) the Netherlands, (6) Portugal, (7) Spain, (8) Switzerland, and the four German states of Baden, Hesse, Prussia, and Wuerttemberg, signed the First Geneva Convention in Geneva, Switzerland. Norway and Sweden signed the Convention in December, and many other countries have joined since its inception.

The First Geneva Convention comprised of ten articles and was the very first treaty on international humanitarian law. It created the "International Committee for Relief to the Wounded," which was later renamed the International Committee of the Red Cross, as the first neutral international organization to provide care for the wounded in times of war. It also provided for the protection of all medical facilities and personnel or civilians aiding the wounded.

The original ten articles of the 1864 treaty have been expanded upon multiple times with three subsequent Geneva Conventions in 1882, 1929, and 1949.

The United States signed the Second Geneva Convention, which occurred in 1882 and extended protections to wounded combatants at sea and shipwrecked sailors. The Third Geneva Convention in 1929 made special protections for prisoners of war. The Fourth Geneva Convention in 1949 reaffirmed the requirements of the first three conventions and granted protections for civilians during war.

Today, the Geneva Conventions act as the foundation for international humanitarian law in times of war and require respect for human dignity.