Switzerland Events

1798 Apr Helvetic Republic Declared
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803) represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing canton...
1917 International Committee of the Red Cross Wins the Nobel Peace Prize
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties (signatories) to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949...
1941 Jan 13 James Joyce Dies
With the death of James Joyce there passes the strangest and most original figure which Ireland gave to Europe in this generation. The ban imposed for years upon his "Ulysses" gave a n...
1944 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the Second Time
"Six years have passed since we last awarded the Peace Prize, six years during which war has dominated the world. These war years, in which men have fought for life and freedom on a scale ..." —Gunnar Jahn, Chairman of the Nobel Comm
1945 Mar 8 SS General Karl Wolff Offers Plan for Local Surrender of German Forces in Northern Italy During Secret Negotiations with Western Allies
During World War II, Operation Crossword or Operation Sunrise was a series of secret negotiations conducted in March 1945 in Switzerland between representatives of the Nazi Germany and th...
1945 May 2 German Forces in Northern Italy Officially Cease Hostilities with Allied Forces
On March 12, the U.S. ambassador in the USSR, W. Averell Harriman, notified Vyacheslav Molotov of the possibility of Wolff's arrival in Lugano to conduct negotiations on the German Forces...
1963 Sep 4 Swissair Flight SR306 Crash
Radioing the tower, he reported that the visibility varied along the runway and that the jet exhaust had blown away some of the fog. Holhli then asked for permission to take off and it wa...
1963 Dec 10 The International Red Cross Committee and the League of Red Cross Societies are Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
It was after the French-Sardinian-Austrian war and on the background of the terrible massacres on the battlefields of northern Italy that the Red Cross came into existence. On June 24, 18...
1969 Dec 10 International Labour Organization (I.L.O.) is Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
In structure, the ILO is unique among world organizations in that the representatives of the workers and of the employers have an equal voice with those of governments in formulating its ...
1999 Dec 10 Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders in English) is Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
The organization actively provides health care and medical training to populations in more than 60 countries, and frequently insists on political responsibility in conflict zones such as ...
2003 Sep 10 Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh is Fatally Stabbed While Shopping
A Serbian man has confessed to the killing of Anna Lindh, the Swedish foreign minister who died after being stabbed in a Stockholm department store last September. Mijailo Mijailovic, ...
2008 Dec 12 Switzerland Joins the Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed in 1985, on the river-boat "Princess Marie-Astrid" anchored in Schengen, Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Commun...
2009 Jul 7 Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization Holds Special Meeting to Discuss H1N1 Vaccine Recommendations
On 7 July 2009, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization held an extraordinary meeting in Geneva to discuss issues and make recommendations related to vaccine for t...
2009 Sep 27 Roman Polanski Is Arrested
In March 1977 film director Roman Polanski was arrested and charged with a number of offenses against Samantha Geimer, a thirteen-year-old girl. She testified that Polanski gave her a com...
2009 Nov 17 Swiss Pharmaceutical Maker Novartis Announces Study Results Suggesting Half-Dose of Its H1N1 Vaccine Sufficient for Protection Against Flu
The vaccine against the H1N1 influenza remains effective at half doses, according to a study by Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis (NYSE:NVS) International AG released on Tuesday....
2010 Jul 8 The HB-SIA 'Solar Impulse' Becomes the First Solar Powered Plane to Complete a 24-Hour Flight
The SolarImpulse team celebrated a historic moment on Thursday morning as pilot André Borschberg landed a solar-powered plane in Payerne, in the canton of Vaud, after a 26-hour flight. ...
2012 Apr 24 Swiss Scientists Demonstrate Thought-Controlled Robot
Swiss scientists have demonstrated how a partially paralyzed person can control a robot by thought alone.