On this day in 1899, Greek businessman Andreas Syngros died aged 68

·

One of the important personalities of Greece in the 19th century, Andreas Syngros was considered the most powerful man of his time, after King George I .

Andreas was born in the Stavrodromi (Pera) district of Istanbul on October 12, 1830. He studied at the famous school of Theophilos Kairis in Andros, later completing his studies in Ermoupolis of Syros in 1845.

Immediately after graduation he started working as an apprentice in the shop of the merchant Theodoros Rodokanakis in Ermoupolis. He quickly rose through the ranks and in 1849 became the manager of the newly formed company ‘Vouros, Damianos and Sia‘, which imported and exported products from the Ottoman Empire.

In 1863, he began to engage in banking and quickly formed a respectable fortune. His business almost went bankrupt in 1871 due to the economic crisis caused by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 and the sharp fall of Turkish bonds.

With a series of risky stock market manoeuvres, Syngros saved a large part of his fortune and together with Georgios Koronios, Stefanos Skouloudis and Antonios Vlastos, founded the Istanbul Bank.

In 1872, he returned to Athens and, together with Ioannis Skaltsounis, founded the General Credit Bank. After the integration of Thessaly and part of Epirus, Syngros together with other capitalists founded the Bank of Epirus. This merged only two years later with the National Bank of Greece.

Syngros left a mark on his name for his extremely generous charitable work, with his donations totally an estimated 5,000,000 drachmas. For his philanthropic work he was honoured with the highest medals of the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Greece.

Andreas Syggros died in the early morning hours of February 13, 1899 from a heart attack. 

“Such a crowd never accompanied the dead in modern Greece, but never has modern Greece ever had such a large funeral to bury, because ‘such men’ as one author very aptly said are not just individuals, but ‘are humanity in the slightest’!” wrote a newspaper the day after his funeral.

Sourced By: San Simera

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

Victorian football community mourns after the passing of Heidelberg United’s Keely Lockhart

The Victorian football community is in mourning following the heartbreaking news of Keely Lockhart’s tragic passing.

Alexia Apostolakis debuts for Matildas in narrow defeat to Panama

Greek Australian teenager Alexia Apostolakis made her senior debut for the CommBank Matildas on Saturday. Read more here.

Greek government to host online seminar for Greeks abroad on tax, business and relocation

An online information seminar designed specifically for Greeks living abroad will be held on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.

Erin Patterson found guilty of mushroom lunch murders

Erin Patterson has been found guilty of murdering three of her relatives by intentionally serving them a meal laced with deadly mushrooms.

Global Summit of Hellenic Lawyers set to launch in Athens

The world’s most distinguished Hellenic legal minds are set to gather in Athens for the inaugural Global Summit of Hellenic Lawyers 2025.

You May Also Like

Greek pride on display across Australia to celebrate bicentenary of the Greek Revolution

From Melbourne to Canberra, Darwin and Perth, the whole of Australia is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution.

Maria Sakkari knocked out of the French Open in shock upset

2021 French Open semi-finalist, Maria Sakkari, was knocked out of the grand slam in Wednesday's second round by Karolina Muchova.

NSW Government awards almost $700,000 in funding for Small Business Month

Organisations across NSW have been awarded almost $700,000 in NSW Government funding to host events as part of Small Business Month in March.