Human Rights A Day

Baroness Bertha von Suttner becomes first woman to win Nobel Peace prize.Baroness Bertha Felicie Sophie von Suttner was born into aristocracy and a military family as the Countess Kinsky on June 9, 1843 in Prague. In adulthood, the Baroness moved to Paris to work as Alfred Nobel’s secretary, then to Vienna to marry Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner. To escape her disapproving in-laws, the couple moved again and lived a meagre life, teaching language and music, and writing. Bertha, who became a successful writer, gravitated toward the topic of peace. When she learned of the Arbitration and Peace Association in London, she wrote her second serious book The Machine Age, criticizing the world and the destructive nature of nationalism and armaments. In 1889, she wrote the compelling novel, Lay Down Your Arms, describing the effects of war. This made her a leader of the peace movement, about which she corresponded frequently with her former employer, Nobel. Only when Nobel died did she discover through his will th