Konstantinos Zappas

Greek philanthropist

Konstantinos Zappas (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Ζάππας; 1814–1892) was a Greek businessman who together with his cousin, Evangelos Zappas, revived the modern Olympic Games.[1][2]

Portrait of Konstantinos Zappas.

Biography change

Zappas was born to a Greek family in 1814 in the village of Labovo in the Ottoman Empire.[3] After Evangelos Zappas died, Konstantinos took care of his cousin's legacy and the ongoing restoration of the Olympic Games. He was appointed manager of the Olympic Committee that organised the Zappas Olympics, the forerunner of the modern international Olympics.

Konstantinos donated to a number of Greek schools including female schools in Constantinople.[4] Zappas died in 1892 in Mantes-la-Jolie, France. After he died, the Romanian government took all of his assets in Romania causing a noted international law case.[5] The statues of Konstantinos and his cousin Evangelos are located in front of the Zappeion Culture and Exhibition Center in Athens, Greece.[6]

References change

Citations change

  1. Young 1996, p. 109: "...two Greeks, Evangelis and Constantine Zappas..."
  2. Rühl 2004, pp. 3–16.
  3. Canner 2007, p. 186 (note 43) citing Vizoukidou 1947, p. 22; Sfetas 2003, p. 33.
  4. Ruches 1967.
  5. Young 1992, p. 183.
  6. "Zappeion Culture and Exhibition Center". 2007. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2010.

Sources change

Other websites change