Ioannis Pangas or Bangas ( el, Ιωάννης Πάγκας, 1814–1895) 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 ...
wealthy merchant and philanthropist. He donated vast sums of money to the Greek state, as well as to educational, cultural and humanitarian institutions of the Greek communities in Greece and the Ottoman ruled Greek world.
[
]
Life
He was born in a Greek family[ in Ottoman Korce, present-day 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 share ...
. Though his father Georgios Pangas was also a notable merchant and philanthropist, Ioannis Pangas made his own fortune. He initially moved to Thebes and then to Chalkis
Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...
. At 1833 in order to expand his professional activities, he moved to Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
(Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
) and then Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. At a mature age he settled in Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
. Because of his character and hard-working nature he managed to make a fortune.
Benefactory deeds and legacy
In 1889–88 he donated a significant amount of money for the maintenance and expansion of the Greek schools in his home city Korce, where he also established new libraries and donated a huge amount of educational material at his personal expense. Thus, he became one of the main contributors of the Lasso fund, a community fund that supported the foundation and support of Greek cultural institutions in Korce. The Greek Gymnasium of his home town was named Bangas Gymnasium after him.
While living in Athens, he built a luxurious mansion, designed by the German architect Ernst Ziller
Ernst Moritz Theodor Ziller ( el, Ερνέστος Τσίλλερ, ''Ernestos Tsiller''; 22 June 1837 – 4 November 1923) was a German-born university teacher and architect who later became a Greek national. In the late 19th and early 20th ...
, at the center of the Greek capital (on Omonoia square) as well as a second manor, also designed by Ziller, adjacent to his home. On 16 August 1889, Pangas donated to the Greek state his fortune and all of his possessions, as an act of philanthropy to aid the rebuilding of Athens and the growth of the new Greek state. He retained only 1,000 drachma
The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:
# An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fr ...
s per month in order to lead a decent life. This form of benefaction was quite unusual, to offer to donate one's fortune while living rather than upon death. Greek prime minister Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis ( el, Χαρίλαος Τρικούπης; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895.
He is best remembered for introducing the vote of c ...
personally noted the significance of Pangas's philanthropy.
References
Sources
Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization.
M. V. Sakellariou. Ekdotike Athenon, 1997. .
Hotel ''Alexander the Great''
Baggeion
Epirot benefactors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pangas, Ioannis
1814 births
1895 deaths
19th-century Greek businesspeople
Greek philanthropists
People from Korçë
19th-century philanthropists