Introduction
Pierre Cérésole (17 August 1879 – 23 October 1945) was a Swiss engineer, known primarily as the founder of the Service Civil International (SCI) or the International Voluntary Service for Peace (IVSP), in 1920, an organisation that helped in reconstruction after the First World War with the goal of achieving an atmosphere of brotherhood. As a pacifist, he had refused to pay taxes that were used for the acquisition of arms and refused to accept money from his inheritance. He spent many hours in prison.
Cérésole had been inspired by American thinker William James. Cérésole in turn inspired Kees Boeke.
History
Pierre Cérésole was born in Lausanne on 17 August 1879, the son of Paul Cérésole, a member of the Swiss Federal Council and a President of the Swiss Confederation.