Under the terms of his last will and testament of 27 November 1895 Alfred Nobel established five prizes to be distributed “to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind”. The Nobel Peace Prize shall, he specified, be awarded by the Norwegian Storting “to the person  who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”. The first Peace Prize went jointly to Henry Dunant and Frédéric Passy one hundred years ago, in 1901. The following two articles highlight that event. Peter Nobel recalls the historical context in which Alfred Nobel established the Peace Prize and his motives for doing so. André Durand writes on the reaction of  “Geneva” to the award being given to Henry Dunant.