Vahan Cardashian ( hy, Վահան Քարտաշեան; December 1, 1882June 11, 1934) was an Armenian-American political activist and lawyer. Born in the city of

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

(now Kayseri),

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) ...

on December 1, 1882 or 1883, Cardashian studied in the local French lyceum and Talas American College. He emigrated to the United States in 1902. He got accepted at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1904 and earned a law degree in 1908. In the same year, he wrote a book entitled ''The Ottoman Empire of the Twentieth Century''. Cardashian entered the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

in 1909 and began practicing law. In 1913, he was the Fiscal Agent of the Ottoman Empire in the United States. Prior to the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

of 1915, he served as a counselor and statistician to the Ottoman Chamber of Commerce in America. He was a counselor for the Ottoman Embassy in Washington, D.C. and then to the Ottoman Consulate General in New York from 1910 to 1915. He authored several books on the Armenian Question. Some authors claim otherwise, but in his 1934 obituary, it's stated that Cardashian was survived by his sister, mother and brother. In early 1919, he founded the American Committee for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA), the predecessor of the

Armenian National Committee of America The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) ( hy, Ամերիկայի Հայ դատի յանձնախումբ) an Armenian American grassroots organization. Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C., and it has regional offices in Glendale, ...

(ANCA). He continued his efforts until his death in 1934.Vahan Cardashian
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardashian, Vahan 1880s births 1934 deaths People from Kayseri Armenians from the Ottoman Empire American people of Armenian descent 20th-century American lawyers Ethnic Armenian lawyers Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States Armenian political scientists 20th-century political scientists