Ferdinand Buisson

The Nobel Peace Prize 1927
Nobel co-recipient: Ludwig Quidde

Role: Formerly Professor, Sorbonne University, Paris, Founder and President, Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (League for Human Rights)

Nobel Prize Cash & Philanthropy

Ferdinand Buisson dedicated his Nobel prize to public school teachers and donated the proceeds of the Nobel prize to various pacifist programs.

Ferdinand Buisson was awarded the 1927 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with German Ludwig Quidde. As a pacifist, he actively worked to ameliorate the tensions and establish harmonious relations between France and Germany, especially after the occupation of the Ruhr in 1923. In France, he was one of the main architects of the laws of secularism and human rights, the public school system, establishing a free secular education, the well-being of poor children and their right to education and advocating for the right of women to vote and have equal representation. These were his passion and concern and to which he was devoted. Some of the many administrative positions he held were ‘Director of the Paris schools’ and the ‘Directorate of Primary Education.’