Keri, a veteran leader of the Armenian liberation movement at the turn of the twentieth century, became also a prominent military figure in the last years of his life. He was born Arshag Kavafian in 1858 in Erzerum, and was twenty-four when he entered the short lived self-defense organization “Defender of the Homeland,” founded in 1882.
Shushi had historically been the capital of Karabagh and the third most important Armenian cultural center in the Southern Caucasus (after Tiflis and Baku) until 1920, when the pogrom executed by Azerbaijani forces ended in the destruction of the Armenian quarters and the extermination of the Armenian population of the city.
Poet Hovhannes Shiraz, one of the most popular names in Armenia and the Diaspora during Soviet times, was born in Alexandropol (later Leninakan, now Gumri), in 1915. His birth name was Onnig Garabedian. At the age of five, he lost his father, who was killed in the Turkish invasion of Armenia that followed the Armenian-Turkish war of 1920.
Henry Morgenthau, Sr., was the Ambassador of the United States to the Ottoman Empire. He was born in Mannheim (Germany) on April 26, 1856.
The Arab rule lasted for almost two and half centuries (640-886) in Armenia. Their domination was heavy handed, and time after time, the Armenian nobility rebelled against oppression and excessive taxes. As it had happened under Persian rule, several of those rebellions were headed by the Mamikonian princes.
Avedis Aharonian, known as the “singer of Armenian sorrow,” was one of the popular names of Eastern Armenian literature in the first half of the twentieth century. He was equally noted for his active participation in the revolutionary movement and the first Republic of Armenia.
Levon Shant was perhaps the most important playwright in the history of Armenian theater, but he was primarily a seasoned and accomplished educator. He was also an active participant in the Armenian liberation movement.
Robert Zildjian became the founder of Sabian Cymbals, the second-largest manufacturer of cymbals in the world, when he was almost sixty-years-old. His cymbals dramatically increased their sales after Ringo Starr used them in 1964, during the Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
French-Armenian composer Georges Garvarentz was a prolific author of music for films and musical collaborator and brother-in-law of Charles Aznavour. He was born Diran Garvarentz on April 1, 1932, in Athens, Greece, to a family of Armenian immigrants.
Yeghishe Charents worked at the Armenian State Publishing House and developed a prolific editorial program, His works have been published many times, and statues, streets and a museum perpetuate his name in Armenia.
