By: HISTORY.com Editors

First Geneva Convention establishes Red Cross aid for war wounded

Published: February 09, 2010Last Updated: May 27, 2025

The Geneva Convention of 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armies in the Field is adopted by 12 nations meeting in Geneva. The agreement, advocated by Swiss humanitarian Jean-Henri Dunant, called for nonpartisan care to the sick and wounded in times of war and provided for the neutrality of medical personnel. It also proposed the use of an international emblem to mark medical personnel and supplies. In honor of Dunant’s nationality, a red cross on a white background—the Swiss flag in reverse—was chosen. The organization became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 1901, Dunant was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1881, American humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons founded the American National Red Cross, an organization designed to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters in congruence with the International Red Cross.

7 Red Cross Facts

Check our seven things you may not know about the International Red Cross.

By: Jesse Greenspan

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on August 22nd

1485

Battle of Bosworth Field

In the last major battle of the War of the Roses, King Richard III is defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field by Henry Tudor, the earl of Richmond. After the battle, the royal crown, which Richard had worn into the fray, was picked out of a bush and placed on Henry’s head. […]

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1776

Redcoats land at Long Island

On August 22, 1776, the British arrive at Long Island, between Gravesend and New Utrecht, with “near twenty four thousand men ready to land in a moment,” according to one observer. General William Howe’s large army came to Long Island hoping to capture New York City and gain control of the Hudson River, a victory […]

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1849

Austria attacks Venice with balloon bombs, considered the first remote aerial attack

It considered the first remote aerial attack.

1851

U.S. wins first America’s Cup

On August 22, 1851, the U.S.-built schooner America bests a fleet of Britain’s finest ships in a race around England’s Isle of Wight. The ornate silver trophy won by the America was later donated to the New York Yacht Club on condition that it be forever placed in international competition. Today, the “America’s Cup” is […]

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1862

President Lincoln replies to Horace Greeley

President Abraham Lincoln writes a carefully worded letter in response to an abolitionist editorial by Horace Greeley, the editor of the influential New York Tribune, and hints at a change in his policy concerning slavery. From the outset of the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed the war’s goal to be the reunion of the nation. He […]

1:58m read

1911

Theft of “Mona Lisa” is discovered

An amateur painter sets up his easel near Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, only to discover that the masterpiece is missing. Earlier in the day, in perhaps the most brazen art theft of all time, Vincenzo Perugia had walked into the Louvre, removed the famed painting from the wall, hid […]

1:44m read

1922

Irish politician Michael Collins assassinated

Irish revolutionary and Sinn Fein politician Michael Collins is killed in an ambush in west County Cork, Ireland, on August 22, 1922.

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1935

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx is born

Annie Proulx, author of celebrated books and stories including The Shipping News and “Brokeback Mountain,” is born on August 22, 1935 in Norwich, Connecticut. Her mother was a painter and her father a self-made executive in a textile company. Annie lived in various towns in New England and in North Carolina during her childhood, and wrote […]

1:06m read

1962

Citroen helps de Gaulle survive assassination attempt

On August 22, 1962, President Charles de Gaulle of France survives one of several assassination attempts against him thanks to the superior performance of the presidential automobile: The sleek, aerodynamic Citroen DS 19, known as “La Deesse” (The Goddess). When the Citroen DS made its sensational debut at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, its streamlined, […]

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1965

Juan Marichal hits catcher with bat, instigating epic MLB brawl

At San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on August 22, 1965, Giants pitcher Juan Marichal steps up to the plate to lead off the home half of the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the second pitch, a ball low and away, catcher John Roseboro returns the ball to pitcher Sandy Koufax, but he offends […]

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1968

Czechs protest against Soviet invasion

In the streets of Prague and in the United Nations headquarters in New York City, Czechs protest against the Soviet invasion of their nation. The protests served to highlight the brutality of the Soviet action and to rally worldwide condemnation of the Soviet Union. On the night of August 20, 1968, more than 200,000 troops […]

1969

Zager and Evans end a six-week run at No. 1 with their smash-hit “In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)”

The American pop-rock duo Zager and Evans end a six-week run at the top of the charts with their ponderously titled single “In The Year 2525.” With lyrics focused on the ominous effects of future technology, it would be their one and only hit. Zager and Evans never returned to the pop charts after their triumphant debut in […]

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1972

Demonstrators disrupt Republican National Convention in Miami Beach

Delegates entering the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach are harassed by 3,000 antiwar demonstrators, many painted with death masks. The rest of the convention is marked by demonstrations outside the meeting hall; hundreds of protestors are arrested and many are injured when police use riot-control agents.

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1989

Nolan Ryan registers 5,000th strikeout

On August 22, 1989, Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers becomes the first pitcher in major league history to register 5,000 career strikeouts. Ryan would go on to rack up a total of 5,714 strikeouts, over 1,500 more than his closest competition. Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. was born January 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas and […]

2:28m read

1992

Shootings continue at Ruby Ridge

In the second day of a standoff at Randy Weaver’s remote northern Idaho cabin atop Ruby Ridge, FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi wounds Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris, and then kills Weaver’s wife, Vicki. Randy Weaver, an alleged white supremacist, had been targeted by the federal government for selling two illegal sawed-off shotguns to an undercover […]

1:50m read

1994

DNA testing links O.J. Simpson to murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman

The match carries staggering odds.

19th Century

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