In 1859 on a business visit to Algeria, observed the harsh conditions of the confrontation between the Austrian army and the French-Piedmontese, in the war of the unification of Italy. He was both disappointed and impressed by that bloody spectacle and was also able to observe the inefficiency of the health services. Due to all this he wrote a complaint in his book “A memory of Solferino”, which he published in 1862.
In Algeria he founded a business for the cultivation and commercialization of corn that was not very supported by the colonial authorities so he decided to meet with the French emperor Napoleon III in order to obtain support in his business.
Every time he felt more involved by the terrible misfortunes he saw wherever he went. The dead and wounded lay dying on the battlefield without any help. Henry Dunant organized aid from the civilian population to help the wounded and began to build field hospitals and convinced the inhabitants of all regions to help the dying person regardless of their nationalization. He was the creator of the first aid kit or briefcase.
He marketed his aforementioned book (A memory of Solferino) in order to make the authorities around the world aware of creating a neutral organization to help the wounded in any war in the world, creating a committee of five people and forming the International Committee of the Red Cross.
His dedication to this humanitarian cause caused him to spend a lot of money, being ruined in 1867, being in turn persecuted by multiple debtors and asking for help from Napoleon III, which lent him support. Still, it was not of much help and he had to go into exile in England.
After a while he travels to Swiss due to his multiple illnesses and died on October 30, 1910, being remembered with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1903.