First Geneva Convention
August 22, 1864
At a Swiss conference inspired by Dunant's book on Solferino, twelve European states signed a convention guaranteeing the neutrality of military medical personnel and the wounded. A red cross on a white flag - the Swiss flag reversed - became the symbol. Modern international humanitarian law had been written, for the first time, on paper.
In context
Also in 1864 (5 other events on record)
- Fall of Nanjing · East Asia · War
- Sherman's March to the Sea · North America · War
- First International Founded · Europe · Politics
- Sand Creek Massacre · North America · War
- Arlington Cemetery Founded · North America · Culture
Before and after in Europe
- Before: January 22, 1863: Polish January Uprising
- After: 1865: Mendel's Peas
Before and after in Politics
Era
Industrial Age (1801–1900), one of 513 events from that era on Saeculum.