Christopher Oscanyan (; 28 April 1818 – 1 August 1895), also known as Khachig Oskanian and Khachadour Vosganian, was an American-Armenian journalist and writer. He was one of the first

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

settlers in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He also served as Turkish consul in New York.

Biography

Oskanyan was born in

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. His parents, who were ethnic

Armenian people Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, christened him Hatchik, which he later changed to Christopher. He learned from private tutors the

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, and

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s; to these he soon added

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and

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, and, having heard English spoken, he wished to learn it also. To this end he made the acquaintance of the American missionaries that had then lately arrived in the Ottoman Empire. One of these, Harrison G. O. Dwight, took an interest in him, and after the death of Oscanyan's mother enabled him to go to the United States to obtain a liberal education. Oscanyan arrived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1834 or 1835 and was at once matriculated at the

University of the City of New York New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

.Bakalian, Anny (1993). ''Armenian Americans: From Being to Feeling Armenian''. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. . Author Dennis Papazian believes that he was most probably sent to the

by Christian missionaries. Failing health compelled him to leave college in his junior year, and he joined the staff of

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

s engaged in the construction of the

Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad The Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad, informally known as the Triple C, was a Southeastern railroad that operated in the late 19th century. The company was formed in 1886 with the idea of extending a rail line from Charleston, South Caro ...

. Returning to Constantinople in 1841, he established the first newspaper that was published there in Armenian, the ''Astarar Püzantian'' (''Byzantine Advertiser''). But the authorities would not tolerate the expression of liberal opinions, and he was soon compelled to abandon the undertaking. In 1843, he became the private secretary of

Ahmed Fethi Pasha Ahmed Fethi Pasha (born 1801 in Rhodes – died 1858 in Constantinople), was an Ottoman marshal, ambassador and industrialist, who belonged to the Cretan Muslim community. Career Prior to becoming a Marshal, Ahmed served as ambassador to Russ ...

, son-in-law of the sultan, and minister of ordnance. While he was thus engaged he was appointed special agent to purchase the trousseau of Adilé Sultana, who was about to be married to Mehmed Aali Pasha, and in this capacity he frequently visited the palace. After the ceremony, Oscanyan acted as correspondent for several American and

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an newspapers. Oscanyan eventually became a feature writer for ''

The New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the ''New York Herald Tribune''. Hist ...

''. In his columns and articles, he urged Armenians to emigrate from the

and move to the United States. His home became an important gathering place for many of the Armenian immigrants. He always expressed his desire to establish a strong Armenian colony in America and name it "New

Ani Ani (; ; ) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom that covered much of present-day Armen ...

". In 1849, he wrote a satirical romance in Armeno-Turkish, or Turkish written in the Armenian character, entitled ''Acaby''. This was followed in 1851 by ''Veronica'', another work of fiction, and by ''Bedig'', a book for children. The same year he published an Armenian translation of ''The Mysteries of

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''. In 1853, with the assistance of others, he opened an Oriental museum in London, but the enterprise was not successful and he returned to New York. In New York, Oscanyan wrote and published ''The Sultan and His People'' (New York, 1857), 16,000 copies of which were sold in four months. In 1868, Oscanyan was made Turkish

consul general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

in New York City, and he held the office until 1874. Having occasion to visit Constantinople in 1872, he was assigned by the porte as the representative of the sultan in entertaining Gen.

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

during his visit to Turkey. On resigning his consulship he again busied himself in literary pursuits in New York City. He wrote another work on Turkey and the libretto of a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

. Oscanyan was president of the

New York Press Club The New York Press Club, sometimes ''NYPC'', is a nonprofit membership organization that promotes journalism in the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. It is unaffiliated with any government organization and abstains from ...

Publication

* ''The Sultan and his People'' (1857)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oscanyan, Christopher 1818 births 1895 deaths Journalists from Istanbul Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States American people of Armenian descent 19th-century American writers 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Diplomats of the Ottoman Empire New York University alumni