Joannes Gennadius | |
|---|---|
 Gennadius in 1914 | |
| Born | Ἰωάννης Γεννάδιος (1844-01-07)7 January 1844 Athens, Greece |
| Died | 7 September 1932(1932-09-07) (aged 88) London, England |
| Occupation | Diplomat, bibliophile, writer |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Spouse | Florence Laing Kennedy (1853–1952) |
Joannes,Ioannes orJohn Gennadius (Greek:Ἰωάννης Γεννάδιος, 1844–1932) was a Greekdiplomat,writer, and speaker, best known for his donation of his collection of Greek books and art to theGennadius Library.[1]
Gennadius was born inAthens on January 19 [O.S. January 7] 1844, the son ofGeorgios Gennadios, a man of letters, and Artemis Gennadios, a descendant ofIoannis Benizelos.[2] His father died when he was 10. He was educated at the English-languageMalta Protestant College and at theUniversity of Athens. In November 1862, at age 18, he left the university and traveled to London. In Britain, he worked atRalli Brothers, returning briefly to Athens to work as a journalist.[3]
Gennadius married in London on 27 December 1902 Florence Laing Kennedy (1853–1952), the widow of the artist Edward Sherard Kennedy and daughter ofSamuel Laing. There were two ceremonies, first at the Greek Church of St Sofia, then at the Anglican church ofSt Peter, Cranley Gardens.[4] They set up household at 14 De Vere Gardens,Kensington. They moved toEast Molesey, Surrey, in 1924. Gennadius died in London in 1932 and his wife died in 1952.[3]
His first public role was during theDilessi murders in 1870. Four travelers inGreece were murdered by brigands, prompting an "angry outburst of anti-Greek feeling in London". Though his employers, the Ralli Brothers, told him to remain silent, he researched the incident and wrote a 192-page pamphlet about it[5] which he then delivered to one hundred members ofParliament. He was fired from his job, but became a hero to Greeks in Greece and abroad. In 1873, the Greek government appointed him Second Secretary inConstantinople. In 1874, he was transferred to London, and in May 1875, he was namedChargé d'affaires. He then had a series of increasingly senior postings in London,Vienna, theNetherlands, and the United States, but was recalled to Athens in 1892. It was only in 1910 that he was reappointed as Minister in London andThe Hague. He retired in 1918, but served as the Greek representative to theWashington Naval Conference from 1921 to 1922.[3]
Gennadius had started collecting books young. In 1867, for theExposition Universelle in Paris, he prepared an exhibit andcatalogue raisonné for all of the newspapers and periodicals published in Greece in 1866. In 1872, his personal library was not especially notable. The one "treasure" of his collection at that time was a first edition of theErotokritos. During the period 1874 to 1880, his collecting became more systematic, including not just books, but also drawings and prints on Turkish and Greek life and costume. In the 1880s, he "formed the 'grand design' that was to dominate his collecting for the rest of his life: to form a library that represented the creative genius of Greece at all periods, the influence of her arts and sciences upon the western world, and the impression created by her natural beauty upon the traveller", with the plan of donating it to theNational Library of Greece.[3][6]
In the meantime, he organized various activities in support of Greece. He arranged the donation of 6,000 books to the Parliamentary Library. He helped form the Greek Committee, withLord Rosebery as president. He helped found theSociety for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.[3]
In 1922, he offered his collection of 24,000 volumes to theAmerican School of Classical Studies in Athens. A site for a library building was donated by the Greek government and funding for the building by theCarnegie Corporation. Gennadius and his wife formally dedicated it on April 23, 1926.[3]
