Théodore Maunoir

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Théodore David Eugène Maunoir (born  June 1, 1806 in Geneva , †  April 26, 1869 ibid) was a Swiss surgeon . In 1863 he was one of the five founders of the International Committee of Aid Societies for the Care of the Wound , from which the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) emerged in 1876 . However, he died only six years after the founding of the committee, so that his participation had no significant impact on the later development of the ICRC. Within the committee and in Geneva society he was a close friend and supporter of Louis Appia , who, like Maunoir, was a surgeon.

Life

Studied and worked in Geneva

Théodore Maunoir (drawing by Jules Hébert , dated 1870)

Théodore Maunoir grew up in the comfort of a wealthy family of doctors in Geneva. Following family tradition, he studied medicine in England and France . In 1832 he was involved in founding the Société médicale d'observation de Paris in Paris . A year later he also obtained a doctorate in surgery in Paris with a thesis entitled “Essai sur quelques points de l'histoire de la cataracte” . After returning to his hometown, he became a member of the Geneva Commission for Hygiene and Health and the Geneva Public Benefit Society. According to historical lore, he was considered an extremely intelligent and charming person with a pleasant sense of humor.

With his first wife Esther-Etienne-Herminie geb. Clavier he had two sons. He also took children from his wife's previous marriage into the family. She had previously married the French writer Paul-Louis Courier at the age of 19, but had no happy marriage with him. A few years after the wedding, Courier had been murdered under circumstances never fully clarified, probably by a servant in his own household. Rumors that his wife had betrayed him with this servant and that she was involved in the act continued despite her acquittal in a related process. For Maunoir's social reputation, this prehistory in the life of his wife in Geneva society, which was strictly characterized by Calvinist moral concepts, was a burden, but it had no significant effects.

After the early death of his first wife on November 13, 1842, he remarried on December 26, 1845. With his second wife Anne Christiana Farmar geb. Jarvis he had two other sons and a daughter. His family life, especially the care and upbringing of his children, therefore played an important part in his life in addition to his work as a doctor and as a consultant for other doctors.

Participation in the international committee

In September 1862, the Geneva businessman Henry Dunant published the book "A Memory of Solferino", in which he described his experiences at the Battle of Solferino . The book also contained a number of suggestions for improving aid for wounded soldiers. The Geneva Public Benefit Society then founded in February 1863 what was later referred to as the Committee of the Five to examine Dunant's proposals. Théodore Maunoir became a member of this committee along with Henry Dunant, Gustave Moynier , Guillaume-Henri Dufour and Louis Appia. A short time later this committee was renamed the International Committee of Aid Societies for the Care of the Wounded , and in 1876 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) emerged. In the meetings of the committee, Maunoir emphasized in particular the importance of not only addressing Dunant's ideas to leading personalities in politics and the military, but also to bring the idea of ​​the Red Cross into the public and thus turn it into a mass movement.

From October 26th to 29th, 1863, at the initiative of the committee, an international conference took place in Geneva, at which the concrete implementation of Dunant's proposals was discussed. When there were differences between the delegates during this conference regarding the involvement of volunteers in the care of the wounded, Maunoir succeeded with a convincing speech in averting an impending collapse of the meeting. He particularly contradicted the objections of the French representative Boudier, an army doctor and confidante of the French Minister of War Jacques-Louis Randon . The French delegation's doubts mainly concerned the efficiency of volunteers and were expressed in the comparison that 1,500 mules would be more useful to support the army than 15,000 volunteers. When Boudier said, “Des mulets, des mulets, c'est le nœud gordien de la question” (“The mules, the mules, that is the Gordian knot of this question”), Maunoir replied that the only remaining task of the conference the procurement of additional mules would be if Boudier were correct in his remarks. His speech that followed convinced the French delegates and led to a constructive debate on the proposals put forward by the committee.

In preparation for the conference in August 1864, which led to the adoption of the first Geneva Convention , the committee published a study by Maunoir on the medical care of the victims under the title “Note sur l'oeuvre des comités de secours aux Etats-Unis d'Amerique” of the American Civil War . In this investigation he devoted himself in particular to the activities of the United States Sanitary Commission , an institution of the US government which existed from 1861 to 1866 and which coordinated the relief activities of volunteers during the Civil War.

Death and remembrance

Maunoir was particularly close to Louis Appia, who was also a surgeon by trade. For Appia, who was twelve years his junior and only came to Geneva in 1849 at the age of 31, he was his mentor within Geneva society. When Henry Dunant was expelled from the International Committee in September 1867 because of his bankruptcy, Maunoir behaved cautiously. One possible reason for this was his own experience with Geneva society dealing with a personal scandal.

He took an active part in the meetings of the International Committee until his unexpected death in 1869. Since he was the first to die of the five founding members of the ICRC, his death put the committee before the question of accepting a new member for the second time after Dunant was expelled. The Geneva local politician Louis Micheli de la Rive was selected as his successor. Due to his early death, his work, in contrast to the activities of his friend Louis Appia and in particular the long-time President Gustave Moynier, had no significant impact on the later development of the committee.

In Geneva the Rue Maunoir was named in memory of Théodore Maunoir.

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This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on May 21, 2007 .
personal data
SURNAME Maunoir, Théodore
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Maunoir, Théodore David Eugène (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss physician, co-founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross
DATE OF BIRTH June 1, 1806
PLACE OF BIRTH Geneva
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 1869
Place of death Geneva