The founder of Amnesty International, Mr Peter Benenson, has died at the age of 83, the human rights organisation said today.
Mr Benenson set up Amnesty International in 1961 after reading an article about the arrest and imprisonment of two students in a cafe in Lisbon, Portugal who had drunk a toast to liberty.
Ms Irene Khan, secretary general of the organisation, said that "his vision gave birth to human rights activism".
"Peter Benenson's life was a courageous testament to his visionary commitment to fight injustice around the world," Ms Khan said.
"He brought light into the darkness of prisons, the horror of torture chambers and tragedy of death camps around the world.
"This was a man whose conscience shone in a cruel and terrifying world, who believed in the power of ordinary people to bring about extraordinary change and, by creating Amnesty International, he gave each of us the opportunity to make a difference.
"In 1961 his vision gave birth to human rights activism.
"In 2005 his legacy is a world wide movement for human rights which will never die."
Mr Benenson died last night at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.
He initially set up Amnesty International as a one-year campaign but it went on to become the world's largest independent human rights organisation.
Currently, it has more than 1.8 million members and supporters worldwide.
Amnesty International is to hold a public memorial service in his memory.