Guillaume Henri Dufour | |
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Born | Konstanz, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) | 15 September 1787
Died | 14 July 1875 Geneva, Switzerland | (aged 87)
Allegiance | France (1811–1817) Switzerland (1817–1875) |
Service | French Army Swiss Army |
Years of service | 1811–1875 |
Rank | Captain (France) General (Switzerland) |
Commands | Swiss Army Federal Office of Topography |
Battles / wars | Napoleonic Wars Sonderbund War |
Awards | Légion d'Honneur |
Other work | Professor of mathematics, cartographer, founding committee of the International Red Cross |
Signature |
Guillaume Henri Dufour (French pronunciation: [ɡijom ɑ̃ʁi dyfuʁ]; 15 September 1787 – 14 July 1875) was a Swiss military officer, structural engineer and topographer. He served under Napoleon I and held the Swiss office of General four times in his career, firstly in 1847 when he led the Swiss Confederation forces to victory against the Sonderbund. In 1864 Dufour presided over the First Geneva Convention which established the International Red Cross. He was founder and president (1838 to 1865) of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography.