Panos Kourtzis

Panos Kourtzis in diplomatic uniform (1912)

Panos M. Kourtzis or Panos M. Courdgis ( Greek Πάνος Μ. Κουρτζής ) (* 1850 in Mytilini , Lesbos , Ottoman Empire ; † 1931 ) was a Greco-Ottoman entrepreneur, banker and shipowner.

He was born in Mytilini on Lesbos in 1850 . In 1867 he moved to Istanbul . In 1880, together with Georgios Zarifis, he was granted a patent to operate steamers on the Golden Horn . In 1883 he founded the Aegean Steam Navigation PM Kourtzis & Co. His steam ships connected Istanbul with Crete , the Danube , Trabzon , Volos , Chios and Trieste . Its crew consisted of Greco-Ottoman sailors.

In 1891 he founded the Mytilene Bank . From 1896 to 1928 he was German Vice Consul in Mytilene. He owned large olive plantations on Lesbos, in Ayvalık and Edremit and coal mines in Kozlu , Zonguldak and Karadeniz Ereğli .

He was honored by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for his charity. In addition, he received the Ottoman Mecidiye Order 4th Class, the Prussian Royal Crown Order 4th Class, the Italian Knightly Order of St. Mauritius and Lazarus and the Greek Order of the Redeemer for the introduction of the Aegean steamship.

family

In 1891 he married Myrsinio P. Vasileiou. They had two sons, Mitsa and Giorgos. Panos Kourtzis died in 1931 and was buried in the family chapel in Loutra Kourtzi on Lesbos.

literature

Kristis Konnaris: Ιστορικό Αρχείο Αιγαίου "Εργάνη" , Mytilini 2007 ( online )

Individual evidence

↑ Evridiki Sifneos: “Was the extraction of coal at Kozlu and Zonguldak mines profitable?” An attempt at an answer from the Courdgi papers in THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PORT-CITIES OF THE SOUTHERN BLACK SEA COAST AND HINTERLAND, LATE 18TH - BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY , Corfu 2017, p. 109.

personal data
SURNAME	Kourtzis, Panos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Courdgis, Panos M.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Greco-Ottoman entrepreneur, banker and shipowner
DATE OF BIRTH	1850
PLACE OF BIRTH	Mytilene , Lesbos , Ottoman Empire
DATE OF DEATH	1931

[1] Evridiki Sifneos: “Was the extraction of coal at Kozlu and Zonguldak mines profitable?” An attempt at an answer from the Courdgi papers in THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PORT-CITIES OF THE SOUTHERN BLACK SEA COAST AND HINTERLAND, LATE 18TH - BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY , Corfu 2017, p. 109.