This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work with others in the overall anti-war and peace movements to focus the world's attention on what they perceive to be the irrationality of violent conflicts, decisions, and actions. They thus initiate and facilitate wide public dialogues intended to nonviolently alter long-standing societal agreements directly relating to, and held in place by, the various violent, habitual, and historically fearful thought-processes residing at the core of these conflicts, with the intention of peacefully ending the conflicts themselves.
Ernesto Balducci (1922–1992) – Italian priest and peace activist
Roger Nash Baldwin (1884–1981) – American pacifist, leader in Civil Liberties Bureau of American Union Against Militarism, supporting conscientious objectors to World War I; lifelong civil libertarian, co-founder of ACLU
Pope Benedict XV (1854–1922, Pope 1914–1922) – advocated peace throughout WW1; opposed aerial warfare; promoted humanitarian initiatives to protect children, prisoners of war, the wounded and missing persons
Medea Benjamin (born 1952) – American author, organizer, co-founder of the anti-militarist Code Pink
Tony Benn (1925–2014) – British Member of Parliament, anti-war and anti-imperialism campaigner, one of the founders of the Stop the War Coalition
Albert Bigelow (1906–1993) – former US Navy officer turned pacifist, skipper of the first vessel to attempt disruption of the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons
Élie Ducommun (1833–1906) – Swiss pacifist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Peggy Duff (1910–1981) – British peace activist, socialist, founder and first General Secretary of CND
Henry Dunant (1828–1910) – Swiss businessman and social activist, founder of the Red Cross, and the joint first Nobel peace laureate (with Frédéric Passy)
Roberta Dunbar (died 1956) – American clubwoman and peace activist
James Gareth Endicott (1898–1993) – Canadian missionary, initiator, organizer, protester
Hedy Epstein (1924–2016) – Jewish-American antiwar activist, escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport; active in opposition to Israeli military policies
Mildred Fahrni (1900–1992) – Canadian pacifist, feminist, internationally active in the peace movement
Andrew Feinstein (born 1964) – South African activist against the arms trade; first member of the South African Parliament to introduce a motion on the Holocaust
Michael Ferber (born 1944) – American author, professor, anti-war activist
Jeremy Gilley (born 1969) – as a result of Gilley's efforts, a General Assembly resolution was unanimously adopted by UN member states, establishing 21 September as an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace – Peace Day.
Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997) – American anti-war protester, writer, poet
Igino Giordani (1894–1980) – Italian politician and cosponsor of the first Italian legislation on conscientious objection to military service, co-founder of the Catholic/ecumenical Focolare movement dedicated to unity and universal fraternity.
Arthur Gish (1939–2010) – American public speaker and peace activist
Lorraine Granado (1948–2019) – American environmental, peace and social justice activist and organizer who co-founded the Colorado People's Environmental and Economic Network and Neighbors for a Toxic-Free Community in Denver
David Harris (1946–2023) – American anti-war organizer and draft resistance leader; later a journalist and author
George Harrison (1943–2001) – English guitarist, singer-songwriter, and music and film producer, achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of The Beatles; religious and anti-war activist
David Hartsough (born 1940) – American Quaker peace activist
Marian Fleming Harwood (1846–1934) – Scottish-born Australian scholar, linguist, pacifist, and philanthropist
Tom Hayden (1939–2016) – American civil rights activist, anti-Vietnam war leader, author, California politician
Wilson A. Head (1914–1993) – American/Canadian sociologist, activist
Larry Hebert – Active duty Senior Airman in US Air Force who went on a hunger strike in Washington, D.C., in March and April 2024 to protest U.S. military support of Israel's war in Gaza.
Fredrik Heffermehl (born 1938) – Norwegian jurist, writer and peace activist
Idy Hegnauer (1909–2006) – Swiss nurse and peace activist
Estrid Hein (1873–1956) – Danish ophthalmologist, women's rights activist and pacifist
Ammon Hennacy (1893–1970) – American Christian pacifist, anarchist and social activist
Yella Hertzka (1873–1948) – Austrian peace and women's rights activist
Alice Herz (1882–1965) – German-born feminist and anti-fascist who was the first person in the U.S. to self-immolate in protest against the Vietnam War
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) – Polish-born American rabbi, professor at Jewish Theological Seminary, civil rights and peace activist
Bono (born 1960) – Irish singer-songwriter, musician, venture capitalist, businessman, and philanthropist; born Paul David Hewson
Daisaku Ikeda (1928–2023) – Japanese Buddhist leader, writer, president of Soka Gakkai International, and founder of multiple educational and peace research institutions
Kathleen Innes (1883–1967) – British educator, writer, pacifist
Margaret Isely (1921–1997) – American peace activist and co-founder of WCPA
Philip Isely (1915–2012) – American peace activist, writer and founder of WCPA & GREN
Jean Jaurès (1859–1914) – French anti-war activist, socialist leader
Kirthi Jayakumar (born 1987) – Indian peace activist and gender equality activist, youth peace activist, peace educator and founder of The Red Elephant Foundation
Zorica Jevremović (1948–2023) – Serbian playwright, theatre director, peace activist
Ekaterina Karavelova (1860–1947) – Bulgarian educator, writer, suffragist, feminist, pacifist
Tawakkol Karman (born 1979) – Yemeni journalist, politician and human rights activist; shared 2011 Nobel Peace prize
Randy Kehler (1944–2024) – American pacifist, anti-war activist, imprisoned draft resister, tax resister, nuclear weapons freeze organizer; inspiration to Daniel Ellsberg
Helena Kekkonen (1926–2014) – Finnish peace activist and peace educator
Helen Keller (1880–1968) – American activist, deafblind writer, speech "Strike Against The War" Carnegie Hall, New York 1916
Kathy Kelly (born 1952) – American peace and anti-war activist, arrested over 60 times during protests; member and organizer of international peace teams
Petra Kelly (1947–1992) – German politician, feminist, pacifist
Alexander Langer (1946–1995) – Italian journalist, peace activist and politician
George Lansbury (1859–1940) – British politician and Christian pacifist; Labour Party Leader (1932–1935); campaigner for social justice and women's rights and against imperialism; opposed WW1; campaigned for disarmament in the 1920s and 1930s; president of the Peace Pledge Union (1937)
Grace Lolim (fl. 2000) – Kenyan human rights and peace activist
James Loney (born 1964) – Canadian peace worker, kidnap victim
Isabel Longworth (1881–1961) – Australian dentist and peace activist
Lee Lorch (1915–2014) – Canadian mathematician and peace activist
Fernand Loriot (1870–1932) – French teacher and pacifist
Lowkey (born 1986) – British rapper and peace activist; opposed to the invasion of Iraq and US/UK foreign policy more generally
David Loy (born 1947) – American scholar, author and Sanbo Kyodan Zen Buddhist teacher
Chiara Lubich (1920–2008) – Italian Catholic mystic and founder of Focolare movement, advocate of unity amongst Christians, interreligious dialogue and cooperative relations between religious and non-religious people. Promoted "universal fraternity".
Rae Luckock (1893–1972) – Canadian feminist, peace activist and politician
Carmen Magallón (born 1951) – Spanish physicist, pacifist, conducting research in support of women's advancement in science and peace
Norman Mailer (1923–2007) – American anti-war writer, war protester
Mairead Maguire (born 1944) – Northern Ireland peace movement, Nobel peace laureate
Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) – South African statesman, leader in the anti-apartheid movement and post-apartheid reconciliation, founder of The Elders, inspiration
Rosa Manus (1881–1942) – Dutch pacifist and suffragist
Bob Marley (1945–1981) – Jamaican, inspirational anti-war singer/songwriter, inspiration
Jacques Martin (1906–2001) – French pacifist and Protestant pastor
Yoko Matsuoka (1916–1979) – Japanese anti-war activist, writer, and feminist
Monica McWilliams (born 1954) – Northern Irish academic, peace activist, human rights defender and former politician. She was delegate at the Multi-Party Peace Negotiations, which led to the Good Friday Peace Agreement in 1998.
Jeanne Mélin (1877–1964) – French pacifist, feminist, writer, and politician
Adrienne van Melle-Hermans (1931–2007) – Dutch anti-nuclear peace activist, also active in ex-Yugoslavia
Chico Mendes (1944–1988) – Brazilian environmentalist, trade union leader, and human rights advocate of peasants and indigenous peoples; assassinated in 1988
Frank Merrick (1886–1981) – English composer, pianist, conscientious objector
Thomas Merton (1915–1968) – American Trappist monk and poet, inspirational writer, philosopher
Billboard displaying Yoko Ono's artwork Imagine Peace
Phil Ochs (1940–1976) – American anti-Vietnam war singer/songwriter, initiated protest events
Paul Oestreich (1878–1959) – German educator, board member of the "German Peace Society" in 1921– 1926
Paul Oestreicher (born 1931) – German-born British human rights activist, Canon emeritus of Coventry Cathedral, Christian pacifist, active in post-war reconciliation
Yoko Ono (born 1933) – Japanese anti-Vietnam war campaigner in America and Europe
Ciaron O'Reilly (born 1960) – Australian pacifist, anti-war activist, Catholic Worker, served prison time in America and Ireland for disarming war material
Carl von Ossietzky (1889–1938) – German pacifist, Nobel peace laureate, the opponent of Nazi rearmament
Geoffrey Ostergaard (1926–1990) – British political scientist, academic, writer, anarchist, pacifist
Jim Radford (1928–2020) – British social, political and peace activist, Britain's youngest D-Day veteran, folk singer and co-organiser of the first Aldermaston March in 1958
Gabrielle Radziwill (1877–1968) – Lithuanian pacifist, feminist and League of Nations official
Clara Ragaz (1874–1957) – Swiss pacifist and feminist
Maixux Rekalde (1934–2022) – Spanish Basque pacifist, activist, and journalist
Megan Rice SHCJ (1930–2021) – Sister of the Holy Child and antinuclear disarmament activist
Henry Richard (1812–1888) – Welsh Congregationalist minister and Member of Parliament (1868–1888), known as "the Apostle of Peace" / "Apostol Heddwch", advocate of international arbitration, secretary of the Peace Society for forty years (1848–1884)
Lewis Fry Richardson (1881–1953) – English mathematician, physicist, pacifist, pioneer of modern mathematical techniques of weather forecasting and their application to studying the causes of war and how to prevent them
Renate Riemeck (1920–2003) – German historian and Christian peace activist
Paul Robeson (1898–1976) – American singer, actor, anti-fascist political activist, and vocal opponent of the Cold War
Romain Rolland (1866–1944) – French dramatist, novelist, essayist, anti-war activist
Óscar Romero (1917–1980) – Archbishop of San Salvador (Catholic), assassinated for his stand against social injustice and violence, canonized 14 October 2018
Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (1888–1973) – historian and social philosopher, whose work spanned the disciplines of history, theology, sociology, linguistics and beyond
Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929) – German Jewish theologian (rabi) and philosopher
Murray Rothbard (1926–1995) – American author, political theorist, historian, staunch opponent of military interventions
Elisabeth Rotten (1882–1964) – German-born Swiss peace activist and education reformer
Coleen Rowley (born 1954) – ex-FBI agent, whistleblower, peace activist, and the first recipient of the Sam Adams Award
Arundhati Roy (born 1961) – Indian writer, social critic and peace activist
Jerry Rubin (1938–1994) – American anti-Vietnam war leader, co-founder of the Yippies
Ravi Shankar (born 1956) – Indian spiritual teacher, humanitarian leader, and ambassador of peace
Mary Shapard (c. 1882–1950s) – American author and peace activist who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize; she was reportedly the first American to advocate for the formation of a "league of nations" during World War I and was also reportedly the source of the original text used by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to draft his Covenant of the League of Nations
Jeff Sharlet (1942–1969) – American journalist and anti-Vietnam war soldier
Kathleen Tacchi-Morris (1899–1993) – British dancer, founder of Women for World Disarmament
Tamanend (c. 1625–c. 1701) – known as a lover of peace and friendship, the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signed the Peace Treaty with William Penn
Guri Tambs-Lyche (1917–2008) – Norwegian women's rights activist and pacifist
Tank Man – Stood in front of the tank during 1989 China protest
Peter Tatchell (born 1952) – Australian-born British LGBT and human rights campaigner, founder of Christians for Peace
Eve Tetaz (born 1931) – retired American teacher, peace and justice activist
Waldo Williams (1904–1971) – Welsh language poet, Christian pacifist and Quaker, opposed the Korean War and conscription, imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes which could fund war
Ann Wright (born 1947) – retired US army colonel and State Department official who resigned in opposition to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, becoming a peace activist and antiwar campaigner
Louise Wright (1861–1935) – Danish philanthropist, feminist and peace activist
George Benedict Zabelka (1915–1992) – chaplain to the aircrews that dropped the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki who later became a convert to the Christian gospel of nonviolence
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (born 1947) – Cuban-born American historian, lawyer in international law and human rights, vociferous critic of military interventions and the use of torture
Williams, Nadya (February 2021). "Lawrence Ferlinghetti: a veteran for peace". Obituary. Morning Star. Retrieved 3 March 2021. The turning point in Ferlinghetti's life came in late September 1945 as he walked the streets of Nagasaki, Japan, six weeks after an atomic bomb was dropped on the city by his country's government. ... Among the 40,000 Japanese who were incinerated on the day of August 9 was one who was drinking tea at the time. ... Ferlinghetti picked up that person's teacup; it had flesh and bone fused into it. The cup has now sat on the mantelpiece of his home for 75-and-a-half years. ... In all his prodigiously creative works, he never missed the opportunity to chastise the absurdity of materialism, the obscenity of war and the soullessness of profit-driven destruction.