Louis Appia
Encyclopedia
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
"Committee of Five", which was the precursor to the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
. Six years later he met Clara Barton
Clara Barton
Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton was a pioneer American teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross.-Youth, education, and family nursing:...
, an encounter which had significant influence on Clara Barton's subsequent endeavours to found a Red Cross society in the United States and her campaign for an accession of the US to the Geneva Convention
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
of 1864.
Education and career as a field surgeon
Appia's parents, Paul Joseph Appia and Caroline Develey, originally came from Piemont. His father, who had been a University student in Geneva, nevertheless became an evangelical pastor in 1811 in HanauHanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
near Frankfurt am Main. Louis was the third of six children. He went to Gymnasium (high school) in Frankfurt and at eighteen gained the Hochschulreife diploma in Geneva. In 1838 he began to study medicine in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
and concluded his medical doctorate in 1843, after which he returned to Frankfurt.
In 1848, he assisted the wounded in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Frankfurt during the February revolution in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the March revolution in the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
states. Afterwards, his specialty and focus became the improvement of the application of medicine to the war-wounded. After the death of his father in 1849, he traveled with his mother to Geneva and began to practice as a surgeon. In connection with his work on military medicine, he developed an instrument to immobilize a broken arm or leg during the transport of a wounded individual. He also wrote a treatise about surgical treatment for the war-wounded. In 1853, he married Anne Caroline Lassere and during their marriage had two sons (Paul and Adolphe) and two daughters (Helene and Marie). His son Adolphe Appia
Adolphe Appia
Adolphe Appia , son of Red Cross co-founder Louis Appia, was a Swiss architect and theorist of stage lighting and décor.Appia is best known for his many scenic designs for Wagner’s operas...
became an architect and was a pioneer of modern stage design.
In 1859 his brother George, who was a pastor in Pinerolo
Pinerolo
Pinerolo is a town and comune in north-western Italy, 40 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone.-History:In the Middle Ages, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance...
, sent him several letters regarding the situation for the wounded and victims of the Austro-Sardinian War. In July, Appia traveled to Italy and ended up working in field hospitals in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
and Desenzano del Garda
Desenzano del Garda
Desenzano del Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, which borders Lake Garda. It is bordered by other communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Garda and Sirmione.-History:...
. He distributed copies of his treatise to the Italian and French doctors, organized the collection of necessary materials, and sent letters to his friends in Geneva requesting the donation of funds to assist the wounded. At the Saint Phillippe Hospital in Milan his invention for transporting patients with broken bones was successfully tested on a wounded lieutenant.
At the beginning of August, he returned to Geneva. Here he completed his treatise with the assistance of his friend Dr. Théodore Maunoir
Théodore Maunoir
Dr. Théodore Maunoir was a Swiss surgeon and co-founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross ....
and published it as a book with the title "The Ambulance Surgeon; or, Practical Observations on Gunshot Wounds" (Der Feldchirurg oder einige praktische Studien über Schußverletzungen). He was also awarded the "Medal of the Saints Maurice and Lazarus", the second-highest decoration of the Kingdom of Italy, for his medical work during the Austro-Sardinian War. In November 1860, he gained the Geneva citizenship right and became a member of the Geneva Medical Society a year later.
Activity with the ICRC
Henry Dunant
Jean Henri Dunant , aka Henry Dunant, was a Swiss businessman and social activist. During a business trip in 1859, he was witness to the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in modern day Italy...
and work towards their possible implementation. He therefore became one of the five founding members of the "International Committee for Relief to Wounded Soldiers" that in 1876 was renamed the "International Committee of the Red Cross" (ICRC). In October 1863, Appia suggested that all volunteers should wear white armbands on the battlefield to designate their status. General Henri Dufour later expanded this recommendation by placing a red cross on the band. A red cross on a white background, the inverse of the Swiss flag, became the symbol of the Committee. During the Second war of Schleswig
Second War of Schleswig
The Second Schleswig War was the second military conflict as a result of the Schleswig-Holstein Question. It began on 1 February 1864, when Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig.Denmark fought Prussia and Austria...
(Danish-Prussian war) at the Battle of Dybbøl
Battle of Dybbøl
The Battle of Dybbøl was the key battle of the Second War of Schleswig and occurred on the morning of 18 April 1864 following a siege lasting from 7 April. Denmark suffered a severe defeat against the German Confederation which decided the war...
(Battle at the Düppeler Schanzen), Appia and the Dutch Captain Charles Van de Velde became the first delegates in history to wear these armbands as neutral observers of an ongoing battle and the attendant provision of care. Two years later, in June 1866, he became reengaged in the Italian unification struggle
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
after a request by his brother. Together with two other volunteers, the two treated wounded in Storo
Storo
Storo is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 50 km southwest of Trento...
, a small town in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In 1867, Appia took over the position of Secretary when Henry Dunant dropped out of the International Committee. Because of the broad role of President Gustave Moynier
Gustave Moynier
Gustave Moynier was a Swiss Jurist who was active in many charitable organizations in Geneva.He was a co-founder of the "International Committee for Relief to the Wounded", which became the International Committee of the Red Cross after 1876...
, this position had neither significant power nor was it a substantial burden. During this period, the Committee met about three to four times a month in his house. In August 1869, he met Clara Barton
Clara Barton
Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton was a pioneer American teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross.-Youth, education, and family nursing:...
, who was in Switzerland for a long medical rest. Impressed by her activities during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he asked her why the United States had refused to sign the Geneva Convention. For Barton, who had not heard of the ideas of Henry Dunant, this conversation became crucial in prompting her efforts after her return towards the founding of the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
and the US accession to the Geneva Convention.
During the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
(1870–1871), Appia was again active as a deployed delegate. Also, in October 1872, he gave on the site assistance in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to help in the creation of the first non-European Red Cross society. He also supported Clara Barton's idea to expand the mission of the Red Cross societies to deal with the victim of natural disasters and epidemics. In the following years, he continued his studies on battle injuries and remained an active member of the ICRC until his death.