Evgenios Evgenidis ( Greek Ευγένιος Ευγενίδης , Didimotiho December 22, 1882 - Montreux , April 1954 ) - a prominent Greek shipowner and philanthropist of the XX century.
| Evgenios Evgenidis | |
|---|---|
| Greek Ευγένιος Ευγενίδης | |
 | |
| Date of Birth | December 22, 1882 |
| Place of Birth | Didimotiho |
| Date of death | 1954 |
| Place of death | |
| A country | |
| Occupation | shipowner , philanthropist |
| Father | Agapios Evgenidis |
| Mother | Harikley Afendaki |
| Awards and prizes |
|
Content
Childhood and Youth
Evgenios Evgenidis was born on December 22, 1882 in the Thracian city of Didimotiho , which was then part of the Ottoman Empire . His father, Agapios Evgenidis, was a senior judge in the Ottoman court of the city. Evgenios studied at the American "Robert College" of Constantinople , founded in 1863 by Cyrus Hamlin, but received his name after a gift of 400 thousand dollars from the American businessman Christopher Rhinelander Robert. Children from all over the Balkan Peninsula studied at the College. He graduated from college at the age of 20. By this time, Eugenios had already foreseen the possibility of his departure to the Greek kingdom and the construction of large shipyards there, at the level of the best in the world.
In Constantinople
Shortly after graduating from College, he secured a place in Doro's Brothers, a large British shipping company, and in 1904, at the age of 24, he became general manager of the Reppen merchant shipping agency and, a little later, an agency employee, focusing on lumber trading and cooperation with Swedish shipping company Broström Conzern. During this period, he created his shipyard in the Golden Horn Bay of Constantinople. Eugenidis remained in Constantinople during the difficult period of the First World War , the surrender of the Ottoman Empire and the occupation of the city of Entente .
In Greece
In 1923, after the Allies ceded Constantinople, together with East Thrace, to the new Turkish government of Mustafa Kemal , Eugenidis chose to move to Greece, where he founded the Scandinavian Near East Agency , affiliated with the Swedish Eastern Lines Agency ( Svenska Orient Linien ), which he founded in 1907. Due to its relations with the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, in connection with the trade in lumber, Eugenidis also became a mediator in the development of international relations of Greece with these countries. As a result, in 1926, he was appointed Consul General of Finland in Greece [1] . In 1937, he acquired his first ship, completely owned by him, and gave him the name "Argo" [2] . Between 1929 and 1939 he was appointed president of several shipping companies, both Greek and foreign investors.
In the Diaspora
After the outbreak of World War II , Eugenidis moved to Egypt , where he established regular shipping lines between North Africa and South America. Finally, he went to Argentina, where during his years there he planned his post-war activities. He foresaw a strong flow of emigration from ruined Europe and turned his attention to ocean liners. He founded Home Line , based in Genoa, and operated 4 ocean liners transporting emigrants from Europe to Africa, Australia, the United States and Canada. Two years after the end of the war, in 1947, Eugenidis settled in Vevey , Switzerland , and from there led his operations, which by then had covered the whole world. In 1953, he again turned his attention to Greece: he established ocean liners with North America and a regular cargo line with South America, continuing to develop his Scandinavian Near East Agency .
Patron
In 1953, after a severe earthquake that caused severe damage to the Ionian Islands , he donated significant sums of money to the families that suffered the most damage, and also became a mediator in providing humanitarian assistance from the Scandinavian countries to Greece, after this natural disaster, one of the worst in her story [1] . The following year, the village of Evgenico (Ευγενικό) in Thrace was renamed in his honor (26-07-1954 Β.Δ, αριθ. 188 ΦΕΚ 19-08-1954, τ. Α΄) [3] , after Evgenidis provided him water supply. In 1954, Spyros Melas wrote about him in the newspaper Estia (Εστία-hearth): “He (Evgenios Evgenidis) admitted to me once when I first met him as the Consul General of Finland in his villa in Glyfada, while still sitting in the auditorium Robert College, he dreamed of getting rich, not only for himself, but also to be able to help others. He did this as a true Christian and patriot, quietly, almost secretly. He responded to all requests that, in his opinion, were for the common good ... He will pay for publications, provide scholarships, facilitate trips ... there was a whole list of poor people whom he helped and with them he began his monthly payment obligations. ” In recognition of his merits to Greece, he was awarded the Grand Cross (Μεγαλόσταυρος) of the Order of the Phoenix [4] .
Death and Heritage
Evgenidis died unexpectedly in April 1954, being a businessman with an international reputation, and in his country a great philanthropist. In his will, he asked to create a fund that will contribute to the scientific and technical education of young people in Greece [5] . The Eugenidis Foundation was founded in 1956 in Athens. On June 7, 1965, on the Singru Avenue in Athens, a grand opening ceremony of the Eugenides Foundation was held. The ceremony was attended by the political and spiritual leadership of the country. Argo magazine wrote: “Our country has long lacked a palace of education in science and technology. She just bought one. The generosity of the national philanthropist Eugenios Eugenidis has made amends for the guilt of our national financial impotence. ” In the same 1965, the Ministry of the Navy of Greece acquired a training sailing ship in Sweden, 1/3 of the purchase price of which was paid by the will of Eugenides. The sailing ship received in his honor the name " Eugenides " [6] . In 1966, the “Fund” opened the first planetarium in Greece and the only planetarium in southeastern Europe in Athens [7] . The Foundation continuously publishes scientific and technical textbooks for young people at low prices. The Eugenidis shipping company, Scandinavian Near East Agency , continues to be in business as part of the Evge Group, a group of companies that have developed Eugenidis's heirs, and offers a wide range of shipping, forwarding and logistics services.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Eurocharity.org Ευγένιος Ευγενίδης (Greek) (neopr.) ? . Date of treatment April 30, 2006. Archived July 25, 2007.
- ↑ Naftemporiki Πολυχώρος πολιτισμού και γνώσης (Greek) (neopr.) ? . Date of appeal April 30, 2006.
- ↑ Name changes of settlements in Greece
- ↑ Εθνολογικό Μουσείο Θράκης: Ευγενίδης Ευγένιος (link not available) . Date of treatment September 23, 2014. Archived March 3, 2016.
- ↑ ΙΔΡΥΜΑ ΕΥΓΕΝΙΔΟΥ - ΤΟ ΙΔΡΥΜΑ: Ιστορικό Παρακαταθήκη (Greek) (neopr.) ? .
- ↑ Greek Shipping Hall Of Fame
- ↑ ΙΔΡΥΜΑ ΕΥΓΕΝΙΔΟΥ / Ιστορικό
Links
- HELLENIC NAVY - Eugenios Eugenidis (1882 - 1954) . Archived on June 7, 2008.
- Οι γεφυροποιοί της Διασποράς (Greek) (unopened) ? .
- Scandinavian Near East Agency .
- ΙΔΡΥΜΑ ΕΥΓΕΝΙΔΟΥ 1954 (Greek) (neopr.) ? .
- Ίδρυμα Ευγενίδου (unavailable link) 03-10-04 Εφημερίδα Καθημερινή.
- Ευγένιος Ευγενίδης 22 Αυγούστου 2006, www.eurocharity.org Πηγή: Ίδρυμα Ευγενίδου, Εκπαιδευτικό Κοινωφελές Ίδρυμα
- Ευγένιος Ευγενίδης (1882-1954) Ελληνικό Πολεμικό Ναυτικό