Henri Marie La Fontaine

Henri Marie La Fontaine was born in Brussels into an affluent, intellectual family; his sister Léonie La Fontaine was a prominent early feminist leader. Studying law at the Free University of Brussels, La Fontaine was called to the bar in 1877, quickly earning distinction as an authority on international arbitration. In 1895, he was elected to the Belgian Senate as a member of the Belgian Labour Party, serving for four decades and rising to become Vice-President of the Senate.

Convinced that universal access to knowledge and transparent international documentation were the essential prerequisites for world peace, La Fontaine partnered with Paul Otlet in 1895 to create the International Institute of Bibliography. Together, they developed the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) system and assembled the Mundaneum in Brussels, an astonishing precursor to the internet that cataloged millions of documents, photographs, and peace treaties.

La Fontaine joined the International Peace Bureau in Bern, succeeding Fredrik Bajer as its president in 1907. He compiled the definitive documentary history of international arbitration, Pasicrisie internationale: Histoire documentaire des arbitrages internationaux, 1794–1900, documenting 368 international arbitral disputes. Awarded the 1913 Nobel Peace Prize as the undisputed leader of the global pacifist network, La Fontaine later represented Belgium at the 1920 inaugural Assembly of the League of Nations, advocating disarmament and international education.