Loni Logori (1871–1929) was an Albanian-Egyptian entrepreneur, poet and activist of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

Life

Logori was born in 1871 in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

, back then still part of the

Vilayet of Monastir The Vilayet of Manastir () was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, created in 1874, dissolved in 1877 and re-established in 1879. The vilayet was occupied during the First Balkan War in 1912 and divided between t ...

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 ...

. Like many other people from his region, he had to emigrate at a young age. Logori settled in

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 ...

at the age of 13. There he received his education; Logori graduated from the French Lyceum of Alexandria. He was actively involved in the Albanian patriotic circles there. He maintained contacts with members of the Albanian ''

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

'' community in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 1909, he represented the colony of Egypt in the

Congress of Elbasan The Congress of Elbasan (), also known among Albanians as the Congress of the Albanian schools (''Kongresi i shkollave shqipe''), was held from 2 to 8 September 1909 in Elbasan, today's Albania, back then part of the Vilayet of Monastir of the Ott ...

, where the foundations of the Albanian education were set.
He lived in Egypt for most of hist life (58 years). In 1929, he came to

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

with an invitation from the Albanian government of the time. He positively responded to the invitation, left Egypt and settled in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

. Unfortunately he died the same year.

As an entrepreneur

Logori was a successful businessman in Egypt. By that time Egypt experienced a massive economic development and prosperity, French and British investments (i.e. the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

), modernization, and opportunity for entrepreneurship. Together with his nephew Milo Duçi, he emerged as an important player in the economic development of Egypt's Delta region directed by

Lord Cromer Earl of Cromer is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, held by members of the British branch of the Anglo-German Baring banking family. It was created in 1901 for Evelyn Baring, 1st Viscount Cromer, long time British Consul-General ...

's office. By 1901, he started working with his well-connected uncle Loni Logori on projects that explicitly tied the commercial interest of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

administration and the local landowners. Logori built much of the canal network in the Minah District.

As a poet

Logori is the author of many lyrical poetry and songs in

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, as ''"Drenovarja"'' (The girl from Drenova), ''"Vemi o vemi"'' (Let's go, let's go), "Celu çelu" (Open up). He also covered alternated thematic as the national heroes (songs for

Papa Kristo Negovani Papa Kristo Negovani (), born Kristo Harallambi and also known as Kristo Negovani (1875 – 12 February 1905), was an Albanians, Albanian national figure, priest, poet, teacher, writer and publisher who was killed by Greek nationalists in 1905 fo ...

, Spiro Kosturi, etc.). As a translator, he translated from

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

the ''

Le Cid ''Le Cid'' is a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille, first performed in December 1636 at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris and published the same year. It is based on Guillén de Castro's play ''Las Mocedades del Cid''. Cast ...

'' of

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...

.
Logori also attempted several times in writing a national anthem for Albania. In fact, one of its first attempts was called "Royal Anthem" (Alb: ''Hymni Mbretnor'') and was found in the catalogs of

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

. It was recorded on 28 March 1918, 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 ...

, interpreted by the

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

Giuseppe Mauro, while the performing orchestra was directed by

Nathaniel Shilkret Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director. Early career Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents w ...

, and the lyrics by Logori.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Logori, Loni 1871 births 1929 deaths People from Korçë People from Manastir vilayet Albanian expatriates in Egypt Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Albanian businesspeople 20th-century Egyptian businesspeople Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Albanian translators Egyptian translators Albanian-language poets Albanian male poets Albanian poets Egyptian male poets French–Albanian translators Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Egypt