Bertha von Suttner

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Image:Bertha-von-Suttner-1906.jpg

Bertha von Suttner on the Austrian 2-euro coin

Bertha Sophie Felicitas Freifrau von Suttner (Baroness Bertha von Suttner), (9 June, 1843 in Prague, [then in Austrian Empire] - 21 June, 1914 in Vienna, (then in Austria-Hungary), born as Gräfin (Countess) Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau, was an Austrian novelist, radical pacifist, and was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Suttner was the daughter of an impoverished Austrian field marshal and governess to the wealthy Suttner family from 1873. She became engaged to engineer and novelist Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner, but her family opposed the match, and she answered an advertisement from Alfred Nobel in 1876 to become his secretary-housekeeper at his Paris residence. She only remained a week before returning to Vienna and secretly marrying Arthur.

Suttner became a leading figure in the peace movement with the publication of her novel, Die Waffen nieder! (Lay Down Your Arms!) in 1889 and founded an Austrian pacifist organization in 1891. She gained international repute as editor of the international pacifist journal Die Waffen nieder!, named for her book, from 1892 to 1899. Her pacifism was influenced by the writings of H. T. Buckle, Herbert Spencer, and Charles Darwin. Though her personal contact with Alfred Nobel had been brief, she corresponded with him until his death in 1896, and it is believed that she was a major influence in his decision to include a peace prize among those prizes provided in his will, which she won in 1905. She is depicted on the Austrian 2 euro coin.

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Note regarding personal names: Freifrau is a title, translated as Baroness, not a first or middle name. The title is for the wife of a Freiherr.

Nobel Peace Prize: Laureates (1901–1925)