Perhaps Dunant could have used a little bit of his organization’s care. The business venture which had served as the impetus leading to his war experience and everything that followed, failed. By 1867, Dunant was bankrupt, his company having been mismanaged, with Dunant’s attention on humanitarian affairs rather than business. The failure of his company also impacted many of his friends, who turned their backs on him, leaving him to literally live on the streets.

Living in a small Swiss town, Dunant fell out of the public eye for two decades, before being identified by a village teacher. The news wasn’t met with fanfare, but Dunant, suffering from poor health, did get moved to a hospice.


Three years later, in 1895, the world finally did take notice and began recognizing his achievements, showering him with awards, including the Nobel Prize in 1901, but it was of little consolation to the bitter Dunant. He remained at the hospice and did not spend any of the prize money. He died in 1910 and did not have a funeral ceremony or mourners and in accordance with his wishes, was carried to his grave, “like a dog.”

His prize money was bequeathed to some of those who had cared for him and an endowment was created to provide a free bed to be used for the sick among the village poor. The rest of the money was left to philanthropic organizations in Norway and Switzerland.


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