This philanthropic Genevan, hard-line supporter of the abolition of the death penalty, was born of a family originating from Nîmes, who sought refuge in Geneva following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685 and who were accepted amongst the bourgeoisie in 1699.

Initially Chamberlain of Napoleon 1, then, in 1814, member of the Representative Council, in 1820 Jean-Jacques de Sellon founded the Society of Peace (Société de la Paix) of which he was President for many years.