Henry Dunant

About Henry Dunant

Henry Dunant (1828–1910) was a Swiss humanitarian whose singular vision led to monumental changes in international law and warfare. He is chiefly renowned for founding the Red Cross movement and initiating the Geneva Convention, which established protections for wounded soldiers and medical personnel during conflict. This profound impact on modern global ethics and medical aid is reflected in his high standing on MIT's Historical Popularity Index, ranking him as the \#636 most influential figure globally.

Despite this critical historical importance, Dunant appears significantly under-attended to in the modern digital sphere. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accrued only 129K views, resulting in an Attention Gap score of -3x, meaning his modern interest is only one-third of what his historical rank would suggest. To frame this disparity, consider Helen Keller, a fellow social activist, who garnered 2.6 million views in the same year, over twenty times Dunant's traffic, despite being ranked significantly lower in historical importance (\#917 vs. \#636).

Interestingly, while his overall attention is low, his recent engagement shows some volatility. His 2025 Momentum, comparing Q1 to Q3, registered a +13% increase, suggesting a recent, albeit small, spike in curiosity surrounding his legacy.