Henri La Fontaine

Lore & Background

Henri La Fontaine was born in Brussels on 22 April 1854 and studied law at the Free University of Brussels. He was admitted to the bar in 1877 and became a professor of international law at the same university in 1893. Alongside his sister Léonie La Fontaine, he was an early advocate for women's rights and suffrage, founding the Belgian League for the Rights of Women in 1890. He was elected to the Belgian Senate as a member of the Socialist Party in 1895 and served as vice chairman of the Senate from 1919 to 1932.

La Fontaine took an early interest in the International Peace Bureau, founded in 1882, and was influential in its efforts leading to the Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907. He served as president of the Bureau from 1907 until his death in 1943. After World War I, he proposed members for a future international court, including Joseph Hodges Choate, Elihu Root, Charles William Eliot, and Andrew Dickson White. He also promoted the unification of the world's pacifist organizations.

He was a member of the Belgian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and to the League of Nations Assembly in 1920–21. With Paul Otlet, he founded the Union of International Associations in 1907 and co-founded the Institut International de Bibliographie. He also founded the Centre Intellectuel Mondial and proposed a world school, university, and parliament. La Fontaine was a freemason, belonging to the lodge Les Amis Philanthropes in Brussels.

Reader's Guide

Henri La Fontaine's significance lies in his central role in the organized peace movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As president of the International Peace Bureau from 1907 until his death, he provided continuity and leadership during a period that included World War I and the founding of the League of Nations. His Nobel Peace Prize in 1913 recognized his effectiveness as a leader of the peace movement in Europe. Beyond peace activism, La Fontaine contributed to international law through legal handbooks and a documentary history of international arbitration. His work with Paul Otlet in founding the Union of International Associations and the Institut International de Bibliographie helped lay the groundwork for modern international documentation and cooperation. His proposals for a world court, world school, and world parliament reflected a visionary approach to global governance. La Fontaine's legacy is that of a lawyer, senator, and organizer who sought to institutionalize peace through law, education, and international collaboration.

Did You Know?

• Henri La Fontaine received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1913 because 'he was the effective leader of the peace movement in Europe.'
• He and his sister Léonie La Fontaine founded the Belgian League for the Rights of Women in 1890.
• He co-founded the Union of International Associations with Paul Otlet in 1907.
• La Fontaine was a freemason and a member of the lodge Les Amis Philanthropes in Brussels.