Peter James Henry Solomon Benenson (July 31, 1921 – February 25, 2005) was an English lawyer and the founder of human rights group Amnesty International (AI). July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an non-governmental membership organization with the stated purpose of campaigning for internationally recognized human rights. ...

Biography

The only son of Harold Solomon and Flora Benenson, born in London. His army officer father died when Benenson was aged nine from a long-term injury, and he was tutored privately by W. H. Auden before going to Eton. At the age of sixteen he helped to establish a relief fund with other schoolboys for children orphaned by the Spanish Civil War. He took his mother's maiden name of Benenson as a tribute to his grandfather, the Russian gold tycoon Grigori Benenson, following his grandfather's death. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Christopher Isherwood (left) and W.H. Auden (right), photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Wystan Hugh Auden, known more commonly as W. H. Auden, (February 21, 1907 – September 29, 1973) was an English poet, often cited as one of the most influential of the 20th century. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is an internationally renowned Public School (privately-funded and independent) for male students, founded in 1440 by Henry VI. It is located in Eton, Berkshire (traditionally part of Buckinghamshire), near Windsor in England... Combatants Spanish Republic CNT-FAI UGT POUM Soviet Union International Brigades Spanish State Falangists Carlists Fascist Italy Nazi Germany Commanders Manuel Azaña Francisco Largo Caballero Juan Negrín Francisco Franco Casualties Civilians killed/wounded = hundreds of thousands The Spanish Civil War, which lasted from July 17, 1936 to April...

He started university at Balliol College, Oxford before World War II interrupted his education. From 1941 to 1945, Benenson worked at Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking centre, in the "Testery", a section tasked with breaking German teleprinter ciphers [1]. It was at this time when he met his first wife, Margaret Anderson. After demobilisation in 1946, Benenson began practising as a barrister before joining the Labour Party and standing unsuccessfully for election. He was one of a group of British lawyers who founded JUSTICE in 1957, the UK-based human rights and law reform organisation. In 1958 he converted to Roman Catholicism. The following year he fell ill and moved to Italy in order to convalesce. Full name Balliol College Motto - Named after John de Balliol Previous names - Established 1263 Sister College St Johns College, Cambridge Master Andrew Graham (academic) Location Broad Street Undergraduates 403 Graduates 228 Homepage Boatclub Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... This article is about the year. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... During World War II, codebreakers at Bletchley Park solved messages from a large number of Axis code and cipher systems, including the German Enigma machine. ... Cryptanalysis (from the Greek kryptós, hidden, and analýein, to loosen or to untie) is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information without access to the secret information which is normally required to do so. ... Teletype machines in World War II A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is a now largely obsolete electro-mechanical typewriter which can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point through a simple electrical communications channel, often just a pair of wires. ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ... English barrister A barrister is a lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions who employ a split profession (as opposed to a fused profession) in relation to legal representation. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main democratic socialist[1] political party in the United Kingdom. ... J.L. Urban, statue of Lady Justice at court building in Olomouc, Czech Republic (1896-1901) Justice is the ideal, morally correct state of things and persons. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

In 1961 Benenson was shocked and angered by a newspaper report of two Portuguese students from Coimbra sentenced to seven years in prison for raising their glasses in a toast to freedom (this occurred during the autocratic regime of António de Oliveira Salazar). He wrote to David Astor, editor of The Observer. On May 28, Benenson's article, entitled "The Forgotten Prisoners," was published. The letter asked readers to write letters showing support for the students. To co-ordinate such letter-writing campaigns, AI was founded in Luxembourg in July at a meeting of Benenson and six other men. The response was so overwhelming that within a year groups of letter-writers had formed in more than a dozen countries. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... District Coimbra Mayor   - Party Carlos Encarnação PSD Area 316. ... Political freedom is the right, or the capacity, of self-determination as an expression of the individual will. ... Doutor António de Oliveira Salazar (April 28, 1889—July 27, 1970) was the President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal (Prime Minister) and the de facto dictator of the Portuguese Republic from 1932 to 1968. ... The Honourable Francis David Langhorne Astor (March 5, 1912, London – December 7, 2001, London) was a newspaper publisher and member of the prominent Astor family. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an non-governmental membership organization with the stated purpose of campaigning for internationally recognized human rights. ...

Initially appointed general secretary of AI, Benenson stood down in 1964 owing to ill health. The advisory position of president of the International Executive was then created for him. In 1966, he began to make allegations of improper conduct against other members of the executive. An inquiry was set up which reported at Elsinore in Denmark in 1967. The allegations were rejected and Benenson resigned from AI. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Kronborg Castle Helsingør , also known by its English anglo name Elsinore, is a city in Helsingør municipality on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in eastern Denmark. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

While never again active in the organisation, Benenson was later personally reconciled with other executives, including Seán MacBride. He died in 2005 at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford at the age of 83. He was classed a big fart and looked like a pig! This statement was done by david simpson HE LOOKED LIKE A PIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been suggested that Sean McBride be merged into this article or section. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The John Radcliffe Hospital is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, UK. It is the main teaching hospital for Oxford University, and as such is a well developed centre of medical research. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ...

Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an non-governmental membership organization with the stated purpose of campaigning for internationally recognized human rights. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Eric Baker was one of the founders and early secretaries general of the human rights group Amnesty International. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Peter Benenson

• Obituary, The Economist
• Obituary, Amnesty International
• Obituary, BBC News
• MoreorLess.au.com Biography