Georgios Sinas ( el, Γεώργιος Σίνας, german: Georg Sina; 20 November 1783 – 18 May 1856) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
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 ...
-
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
entrepreneur and banker. He became a national benefactor of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and was the father of another Greek national benefactor,
Simon Sinas
Simon von Sina or Simon Sinas ( el, Σίμων Σίνας; 1810–1876) was a Greece, Greek-Austrian banker, aristocrat, benefactor and diplomat. He was one of the most important benefactors of the Greek nation together with Georgios Sinas.
Biogr ...
. He was also the founder of the
National Observatory of Athens
The National Observatory of Athens (NOA; el, Εθνικό Αστεροσκοπείο Αθηνών) is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest research foundation in Greece, as it was the first scientific resea ...
.
Biography
Georgios Sinas was born in
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
. The Sinas family came from
Moscopole
Moscopole or Voskopoja ( sq, Voskopojë; rup, Moscopole, with several other variants; el, Μοσχόπολις, Moschopolis) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial ...
, Ottoman Empire (now southern
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
). The ethnic origin of the family has been described as
Aromanian,
Hellenized
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the ...
Aromanian,
or
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
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 ...
. Regardless of their ethnic origin, the Sinas family in Vienna were part of the social-cultural Greek merchant class which maintained close relations with the newly founded Greek state of their era. At an early age Sinas lost his mother and was raised by his aunt in
Serres
Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...
(today in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
), where he lived during his first school years. Approximately in 1790 he moved with his father, the tobacco and cotton merchant Georgios Sinas the Elder (1753–1822), to the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
residence
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, where he finished his ground level studies. At the age of 20, he became involved with his father's businesses and managed to take initiatives and successfully expanded the family business.
He became chief director of the
National bank of Austria, a position that he retained for 25 years. Moreover, he became a successful banker and subsidized not only enterprises but states and royal families in Europe. Already in 1818, he and his father were raised to
Hungarian nobility
The Hungarian nobility consisted of a privileged group of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, in the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the late 12th century only high- ...
by Emperor
Francis I of Austria
Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...
. He has contributed financially in the construction of the
Chain Bridge (Budapest)
Chain bridges are suspension bridges built with chains. Some chain bridge built using this design have retained the name Chain Bridge. Thus as a proper noun, it may refer to:
In Hungary:
* Chain Bridge (Budapest), a bridge over the Danube in Buda ...
, the first permanent connection across the Danube between Buda and Pest, which is used even today. His name is inscribed on the base of the south western foundation of the bridge on the Buda side.
Georgios Sinas retained relations with the newly established
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...
and in 1833 was made the ambassador of Greece to Austria by King
Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fro ...
, a position he held for the rest of his life. He financially supported the Greek community in Vienna and his family's hometown of Moscopole, modern southern
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
. Moreover, he donated huge amounts of money to philanthropic, cultural and educational institutions of the Greek state, like:
*
Arsakeio
Arsakeion (Greek: Αρσάκειον), or Arsakeio (Αρσάκειο), is the name of a group of co-educational independent schools in Greece, administered by the ''Philekpaideutikē Etaireía'' (Φιλεκπαιδευτική Εταιρεία, "So ...
school in Athens.
*
University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
.
*A number of medical and archaeological institutions.
Sinas' greatest donation to Greece was the financing of the Athens National Observatory (1845) a work of the
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
architect
Theophil Hansen
Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen (; original Danish name: Theophilus Hansen ; 13 July 1813 – 17 February 1891) was a Danish architect who later became an Austrian citizen. He became particularly well known for his buildings and structures in A ...
.
[Imperialism and Science: Social Impact and Interaction. George Vlahakis. ABC-CLIO, 2006. ] His son,
Simon Sinas
Simon von Sina or Simon Sinas ( el, Σίμων Σίνας; 1810–1876) was a Greece, Greek-Austrian banker, aristocrat, benefactor and diplomat. He was one of the most important benefactors of the Greek nation together with Georgios Sinas.
Biogr ...
, continued his work on the fields of business and benefaction.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinas, Georgios
1783 births
1856 deaths
Greek philanthropists
Greek diplomats
People from Niš
Ambassadors of Greece to Austria
Austrian people of Greek descent
Austrian people of Aromanian descent
Greek people of Aromanian descent
19th-century philanthropists
People from Serres
Businesspeople from Vienna
Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the Austrian Empire