Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicita von Suttner

Bertha von Suttner was born on June 9, 1843, in Prague. Her family was rich and noble. But her father died before she was born, so money was tight. Bertha grew up learning languages, music, and books from teachers at home.

When she was an adult, Bertha worked as a helper in rich families' homes. This was a common job for noblewomen without much money. She fell in love with a man named Arthur von Suttner. His family did not want them to marry because Bertha was poor.

Before marrying Arthur, Bertha took a short job in Paris. She worked as a secretary for a man named Alfred Nobel. She only worked for him a little while, but they became pen pals for many years. They wrote letters about peace and war. Many people think Bertha helped give Nobel the idea to create a peace prize.

In 1876, Bertha secretly married Arthur. They moved far away to the Caucasus region to live on their own. They wrote stories and gave music lessons to earn money. Bertha saw wars happening nearby, and this made her think hard about how bad war is.

Bertha started writing books. At first, she used fake names so people would not know it was her. In 1885, she and Arthur made peace with his family and moved back to Vienna. Bertha kept writing, and her books became more about big ideas like right and wrong.

In 1889, Bertha wrote her most famous book, called Lay Down Your Arms! It tells the story of a woman whose family is hurt by war. The book showed how war hurts regular people, not just soldiers. It became very popular and was translated into many languages.

Bertha then became a leader for peace. In 1891, she started the Austrian Peace Society. She gave speeches and went to big meetings about peace all over the world. In 1899, she went to a big meeting called the Hague Peace Conference, where countries talked about stopping wars.

In 1905, Bertha won the Nobel Peace Prize. She was the first woman ever to win it! This was a huge honor. It showed that people valued her work for peace.

Bertha's husband Arthur died in 1902. She missed him but kept working hard for peace. She traveled to the United States twice, in 1904 and 1911, to give speeches about stopping wars.

As she got older, the world became more dangerous. Countries were building weapons and arguing more. Bertha warned everyone that a big war could happen and cause terrible harm.

Bertha died on June 21, 1914, in Vienna. She was 71 years old. Just one week later, a leader named Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed. This event started World War I, the very war Bertha had been warning everyone about.

Today, people remember Bertha von Suttner as a brave woman who fought for peace using her words and ideas. Her famous book and her work helped start movements that still try to stop wars today.