Ernesto Teodoro Moneta
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Ernesto Teodoro Moneta
The Nobel Peace Prize 1907
Born: 20 September 1833, Milan, Austrian Empire (now Italy)
Died: 10 February 1918, Milan, Italy
Residence at the time of the award: Italy
Role: President, Lombard League of Peace
Prize motivation: “for his work in the press and in peace meetings, both public and private, for an understanding between France and Italy”
Prize share: 1/2
Champion of Peace, Officer and Journalist
Ernesto Moneta was only 15 when he first experienced war. Together with his father and brothers, he fought in the streets of Milan to free the city from the Austrians. This experience shaped his view of life: states ought to cooperate to prevent war and human slaughter. Moneta completed military training and fought with the freedom fighter Garibaldi, but left the forces and began work as a journalist. From 1867 on, he edited the daily paper Il Secolo in Milan. In his articles, Moneta wrote that the Italian army should be a popular militia only for use in wars of defense. The most important goal, however, was to cultivate a feeling of brotherhood among peoples.
In the 1890s, Moneta stood out as the unrivalled leader of the Italian peace movement.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
