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Konstantinos Zappas (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Ζάππας 1813/14-1892) was a Greek entrepreneur and national benefactor. Together with his cousin Evangelis Zappas he played an essential role in the revival of the Olympic Games.[1]
Zappas was born in 1813/14 in the village of Labova e Madhe (Mega Lambovo), between Gjirokastër (Argyrokastro) and Tepelenë, in today's Albania, then in the Ottoman Empire. After the death of Evangelis Zappas he became the executor of his cousin’s legacy and the ongoing revival of the Olympic Games. He was appointed manager of the Olympic Committee that organised the so-called Zappas Olympics, a Greek athletic festival held in 1859, 1870 and 1875 and forerunner of the modern international Olympics.
In 1881 he bought extended field areas in Thessaly and the following years contributed to the building of the Zappeion building in Athens, which was officially opened at October 28, 1888. Moreover, a number of Greek schools and educational facilities were built with his personal financial support; including the female schools in Constantinople (Istanbul)[2], in his hometown Labovë, as well as in a number of towns in Epirus (Tepelene, Delvine) and Thessaly. Many students benefited from his scholarships for post graduate studies in Western Europe (mostly in the scientific fields of agriculture).
He died in 1892 in Mantes-la-Jolie, France. On his death the Romanian government seized all of his assets and capital that were still in Romania causing a noted international law case at that time and his cousin Evangelis Zappas was often incorrectly cited as his brother. There was also land and money in Greece that Konstantinos left to the Greek government. Baron Pierre de Coubertin together with A. Mercatis, a close friend of Konstantinos, encouraged the Greek government to put in some of that legacy to fund the Athens 1896 Olympic Games in addition to the legacy of Evangelis Zappas.[3][4][5]
The statues of Konstantinos and his cousin Evangelis Zappas are situated in front of the Zappeion.
References
^ Encyclopedia of the modern Olympic movement. John E. Findling, Kimberly D. Pelle. John E. Findling, Kimberly D. Pelle. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. ISBN 0313322783
^ Albanian historical folksongs, 1716-1943: A Survey of Oral Epic Poetry from Southern Albania, with Original Texts. Pyrrhus J. Ruches. Argonaut, 1967
^ The Modern Olympics, A Struggle for Revival by David C. Young. John Hopkins, 1996, p. 117. ISBN 0801853745
^ Memoire sure le conflit entre la Grece et la Roumanie concernant l'affaire Zappa - Athens 1893, by F. Martens
^ L'affaire Zappa - Paris 1894, by G. Streit
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