George Averoff
George M. Averoff (15 August 1815 – 15 July 1899), alternately Jorgos Averof or Georgios Averof (in Greek: Γεώργιος Αβέρωφ), was a Greek businessman and philanthropist. He is one of the great national benefactors of Greece. Born in the town of Metsovo (Epirus, Greece, then Ottoman Empire), Averoff moved to Alexandria while still young. He was known through most of his life for founding numerous schools in both Egypt and Greece.
Biography
George Averoff was born in Metsovo in Northern Greece, into an Aromanian family.[1][2] He moved to Cairo, Egypt, in 1837 to work in a shop run by his brother, Anastasios. Thanks to his bold tactics and business activities, he became the biggest merchant in Egypt. At the same time he participated in banking and real estate (buying and leasing land) while, thanks to his many riverboats travelling up and down the Nile, he managed to dominate Egypt's domestic and foreign trade.[3]
The Greek historian Antonios Chaldeos, who has written his PhD thesis about the history of the
His business activities resulted his accumulating vast wealth, which he used to donate to charity and common good purposes. His charity work included significant donations for the development of educational and other infrastructure projects for the Greek communities of Alexandria, Metsovo, Athens and for the Greek state in general. Among them, the most notable ones were the founding of the School of Agriculture in Larisa, the construction of the Evelpidon Military Academy, the donation to the Athens Conservatory, the donation for the refurbishment of the
The restoration of the
Averoff died in Alexandria in 1899. In gratitude for his generous donations and services, the Greek state declared him a Major National Benefactor and commissioned a marble statue of him which was placed in front of the Panathenian Stadium. It remains there today. On 12 March 1910, the armoured cruiser flagship of the Hellenic Navy, Georgios Averof, was named in his honour, thanks to a bequest of 300,000 GBP (2,500,000 Gold francs) left to the navy by the terms of his Will & Testament.
See also
- Greeks of Egypt
References
- ISBN 9781001303413.
- ISBN 9789027273918.
As for eminent Greeks of Aromanian origin, [...] Georgios Averoff sponsored the building of the stadium for the 1896 Athens Olympic Games
- ^ ISBN 0-8018-5374-5
- ^ Chaldaios, Antonios (2016). The Greek communities in Sudan (19th -21st c.) (in Greek). Johannesburg: University of Johannesburg.
- ^ Chaldeos, Antonios (2017). "Sudanese toponyms related to Greek entrepreneurial activity". Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies. 4, Article 4 – via DigitalCommons@Fairfield.
Sources
- I. Chatzifotis, “Oi Metsovites stin Aleksandreia” [The Metsovites in Alexandria], Minutes of the 1st conference of Metsovite Studies, Athens 1993, pp. 87–96.
- V. Skafidas, “Istoria tou Metsovou” [History of Metsovo], Epirotiki Estia 12/131, 133 (1963), pp. 294–299, 392-396.
- G. Plataris-Tzimas, Kodikas Diathikon, Meizones kai elassones euergetes tou Metsovou [Log of Wills, Major and Minor Benefactors of Metsovo], Vol. A’, publ. of the Prefecture of Ioannina and the City of Metsovo, Metsovo/Athens 2004, pp. 288–333.
- A. Politou, O Ellinismos kai I Neotera Aigyptos, Vol. A’, I istoria tou aigyptiotou ellinismou 1798-1927 [Greeks and modern Egypt, vol A, the history of Greeks of Egypt, 1798-1927], publ. Grammata, Aleksandreia-Athens 1928-1930, 256, 258-263.