Eugenios Eugenidis (; December 1882 – April 1954) was a prominent Greek

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

magnate.

Early life

Eugenios Eugenidis was born in Didymoteicho, Evros (then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

) on 22 December 1882, the son of Agapios Eugenidis, a senior judge in the

, and of Charikleia Afentaki. He studied at the prestigious Robert College, the most selective independent private high school in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, which he graduated at the age of twenty. By that time Eugenidis had already envisioned the possibility of going to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and building large shipyards, on a par with the best in the world.

Business and success

Shortly after his graduation, he secured for himself a position with a large British shipping house ''Doro's Brothers'' and in 1904, aged 24, he became the general manager of the commercial shipping agency ''Reppen'' and only a little later an associate of the agency, focusing on lumber trading and his cooperation with the Swedish shipping company Broström Conzern. During that time he created his own shipyard in the Golden Horn bay. In 1923, after the Asia Minor disaster, he moved to Greece where he established the ''Scandinavian Near East Agency'' in correspondence with the ''Svenska Orient Linien'' general shipping agency, which he had founded in 1907. Through his relation with the Scandinavian and Baltic States due to lumber trading, Eugenidis also became an international intermediate for the development of Greece's foreign relations with those countries. As a result, in 1926 he was appointed consul-general of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in Greece. In 1937 he acquired the first ship fully owned by him named HS Argo. Between 1929 and 1939 he was appointed as president of several shipping companies, of both Greek and foreign investors. Not long after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

had broken out, Eugenidis had to move to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

where he set up a line providing regular connections between

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

. Finally, he went to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and it is in the course of his stay there that he planned his post-war activities. He foresaw that a strong flow of

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

from the devastated countries of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

was very likely to occur, and turned to

ocean liners An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

. He established ''Home Line'', based in Genoa, and managed four ocean liners that carried immigrants from Europe to Africa,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, 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 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Two years after the end of the war, in 1947, Eugenidis settled down in

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and from there he ran his operations, which by that time had extended across the world. In 1953, his interest turned again to Greece: he set up an ocean liner connection with North America and a regular freight line to South America while continuing with the development of the innovative activities of the ''Scandinavian Near East Agency''. In 1953 after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake totally devastated most of the

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

, he offered substantial sums of money to families who suffered the most damage, as well as acting as an intermediate for the humanitarian aid offered to Greece by the Scandinavian countries, in response to one of Greece's worst natural disaster in centuries. The village of Evgeniko in Thrace was also renamed in his honor, after he provided for its crucial water supply. In 1954, Spyros Melas wrote of him in '' Estia'' newspaper: "He (Eugenios Eugenides) confessed to me once, when I first met him as the General Consul for Finland in his Glyfada villa, that as far back as when seated in the classrooms of Robert College, where he had been an honour student, he had been dreaming of making a fortune, not only just for himself but in order to be able to be of help to others. This he did as a true Christian and a true patriot, in silence, almost in secret. He gave in to all the requests he thought were for the public good... He would pay for publications, finance missions, grant scholarships, facilitate journeys ... there was a whole list of poor people he helped and it is from them that the payment of his monthly obligations started." As a recognition of his services to Greece he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix.

Death and legacy

Eugenidis died unexpectedly in April 1954, as a businessman of international repute and in his own country a great benefactor. In his will he requested the establishment of a foundation which would contribute to the scientific and technological education of young people in Greece. Eugenides Foundation was established in 1956 in Athens, Greece. On 7 June 1965, a grand ceremony in the presence of the country's political and intellectual leadership marked the opening of the building on Syggrou Avenue that was to house it. The contemporary periodical ''Argo'' said: "Our country had long lacked a palace for education in science and technology. It has just recently acquired one. The generosity of the national patron Eugenios Eugenides has made amends for the powerlessness of our national financial want". Eugenidis' shipping company, the ''Scandinavian Near East Agency'', remains in business, as part of the Evge Group, a group of companies that have been developed by the heirs of Eugenidis, and offers a diverse range of services in shipping, freight forwarding and logistical support.

Notes

References

* (in Greek) *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugenidis, Eugenios 1882 births 1954 deaths Greek businesspeople in shipping Greek philanthropists Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) 20th-century philanthropists People from Didymoteicho Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece