Ioannis Trikoupis (1750 in

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

– 30 July 1824 in Missolonghi) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

politician of the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

Biography

Ioannis Trikoupis was born in 1750 in

and was the eldest son of the seaman and local notable Matthaios Trikoupis.Γούδας, Αναστάσιος Ν., 1875, Βίοι Παράλληλοι των επί της αναγεννήσεως της Ελλάδος διαπρεψάντων ανδρών, vol.7 (Ζ'), Εν Αθήναις: Εκ του Τυπογραφείου Μ. Π. Περίδου, p. 166.Χαρίλαος Τρικούπης: Έκθεση ιστορικών κειμηλίων της οικογένειας Τρικούπη, Βουλή των Ελλήνων. Αθήνα: Βουλή των Ελλήνων. Μάρτιος 2012. p. 9.
/ref> He attended his first general courses in his hometown, where his teacher was the famous scholar Panagiotis Palamas. Later, he studied philosophy in

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

, where he also learned

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. After his studies he settled in

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

to find work. There he met the

bishop of Old Patras The Metropolis of Patras () is a metropolitan see of the Church of Greece in the city of Patras in Achaea, Greece. The see traces its origins to its patron saint, Saint Andrew, in the 1st century. Historically, it has been one of the two pre-em ...

at the time,

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

and in 1771 he became his secretary. In 1780, when Gabriel was elected

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

, he followed him there. In 1785 he returned to Missolonghi due to the desire of his father, who was the chief elder of the city. He married Alexandra Palama and together they had seven sons (

Spyridon Spyridon (; ) or Spiridon is a Greek male given name. It is often shortened to Σπύρος (''Spyros'') and can sometimes be found as Σπυρέτος(Spyretos), sometimes Anglicised as Spyro or Spiro. Notable people with the name include: Give ...

, Anastasios, Konstantinos, Nikolaos, Manthos, Apostolos and Themistoklis) and two daughters (Eirini and Maria). After his father’s death, he was elected chief elder of Missolonghi in his stead, a position he held for eight years, in part because he managed to gain the favour of Ali Pasha.Goudas, Anastasios N., 1875, p.167-168. He was initiated into the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...

, a secret organization whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state, by Bishop Porphyrios of Arta. Because of that, when the

Greek Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

broke out in 1821, he was elected president of the communal council of Missolonghi. During the first siege of Missolonghi in 1822, Ioannis Trikoupis contributed to the defence of the city. On 9 November 1822, when the

Senate of Western Continental Greece The Senate of Western Continental Greece () was a provisional regime that existed in western Central Greece during the early stages of the Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Gre ...

was established, he was elected senator and later a member of the board of the Directorate General and the three-member committee that worked as temporary substitutes for

Alexandros Mavrokordatos Alexandros Mavrokordatos (; 11 February 179118 August 1865) was a Greek statesman, diplomat, politician and member of the Mavrocordatos family of Phanariotes. Biography In 1812, Mavrokordatos went to the court of his uncle John George Caradja ...

during his absence. Ioannis Trikoupis died on 30 July 1824 in Missolonghi. According to the announcement of his death in the newspaper '' Ellinika Chronika'' of Johann Jakob Meyer, he died of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

.Goudas, Anastasios N., 1875, p. 169.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trikoupis, Ioannis 1750 births 1824 deaths People from Missolonghi 18th-century Greek people 19th-century Greek people Greek people of the Greek War of Independence Members of the Filiki Eteria Deaths from malaria Greeks from the Ottoman Empire

Biography

See also

References