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

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja 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 ...

Life

Logori was born in 1871 in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...

, back then still part of the Vilayet of Monastir of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

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

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

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 self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...

'' community in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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

Congress of Elbasan The Congress of Elbasan ( sq, Kongresi i Elbasanit), also known between 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 Vi ...

, 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 ( ; 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 ...

with an invitation from the Albanian government of the time. He positively responded to the invitation, left Egypt and settled in Durres. 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 ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

), 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 Baring family, of German descent. It was created for Evelyn Baring, 1st Viscount Cromer, long time British Consul-General in Egypt. He had already been cr ...

'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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 Albanian national figure, priest, poet, teacher, writer and publisher. "The nationalist cause was given impetus in 1905 when the Alb ...

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

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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''. Castro' ...

'' of

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

.
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 that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

. It was recorded on 28 March 1918, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, interpreted by the

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

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 ...

, 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