Swiss city, capital of Geneva canton, on the
shore of Lake Geneva; population (1987)
385,000. It is a point of convergence of
natural routes and is a cultural and
commercial centre. Industries include the
manufacture of watches, scientific and
optical instruments, foodstuffs, jewellery,
and musical boxes. The site on which Geneva
now stands was the chief settlement of the
Allobroges, a central European tribe who were
annexed to Rome 121 BC; Julius Caesar built
an entrenched camp here. In the Middle Ages,
Geneva was controlled by the prince-bishops
of Geneva and the rulers of Savoy. Under the
Protestant theologian John Calvin, it became
a centre of the Reformation 1536-64; the
Academy, which he founded 1559, became a
university 1892. Geneva was annexed by France
1798; it was freed 1814 and entered the Swiss
Confederation 1815. In 1864 the International
Red Cross Society was established in Geneva.
It was the headquarters of the League of
Nations, whose properties in Geneva passed
1946 into the possession of the United
Nations.