And Peter Benenson, the founder of Amnesty International, has died at the age of 83. He formed the human rights organization in 1961 after reading about how two Portuguese students were jailed after they were seen drinking a toast to liberty. The first international conference on amnesty for prisoners of conscience was held in 1961. Amnesty’s symbol became a candle in barbed wire — the design was based on the Chinese proverb “it is better to light a single candle than curse the darkness.” In 1977 Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Today the group has over one million members around the world.