155 Years Ago This Morning In Genevé -- What Became The International Red Cross Was Founded...

This morning, we resolve anew, to bend the arc of history -- once again, toward. . . progress.

And so, in Genevé, Switzerland, 155 years ago this day -- a Swiss businessman named Henry Dunant founded the "Committee of the Five" -- with members of five other prominent Swiss business families. He was moved to do so after witnessing first hand the horrific aftermath of the battle of Soferino on June 24, 1859 -- a battle in the Second Italian War of Independence -- in which as many as 40,000 men in a single day of fighting were left dead or dying on the battlefield, with essentially no triage or treatment.

Within a few days of forming the Committee of the Five, the Swiss business leaders renamed it the "International Committee for Relief to the Wounded", which in turn grew in time to become the International Red Cross movement. By 1864, the first use of the Red Cross icon, as a protective banner for medical personnel, occurred -- in an armed conflict during the Battle of Dybbøl, in Denmark.

In parts of the world where the cross might be a misinterpreted iconography (or misunderstood as a purely religious allegiance, and thus less welcome), it now also operates in appropriate geographies as the Red Crescent.

. . . .Directly following the establishment of the Genevé Convention, the first national [Red Cross] societies were founded in Belgium, Denmark, France, Oldenburg, Prussia, Spain, and Württemberg. Also in 1864, Louis Appia and Charles van de Velde, a captain of the Dutch Army, became the first independent and neutral delegates to work under the symbol of the Red Cross in an armed conflict. Three years later in 1867, the first International Conference of National Aid Societies for the Nursing of the War Wounded was convened. . . .

And so it began on February 17, so so long ago. Though the American Red Cross has seen its share of administrative and fundraising controversies, the overall international organization does invaluable humanitarian work.

So let us each remember this weekend, today in particular, to celebrate the birthdays. . . of the good. I am off to the 50^th annual local charity middle-school championship basketball game, and pancake breakfast benefit, in just a bit -- and here's to 50 more, for this particular support organization, focused on at-risk youth. Smile.

नमस्ते