Anastassios Christomanos

Anastassios Christomanos (1841-1906) was a Greek chemist and considered the founder of proper chemistry science in Greece.[1]

Anastassios Christomanos
Born(1841-03-22)March 22, 1841
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
DiedOctober 2, 1906(1906-10-02) (aged 65)
Athens, Greece

Biography

Christomanos was born in Vienna on March 22, 1841, to the well-known Greek descendance family of Manos (following the death of Christos Manos the family became known as Christomanos), from Melnik, Ottoman Empire (now part of Bulgaria) with deeper roots from the Katranitsa (Pyrgi) of Eordaia. His family had immigrated to Austria-Hungarian Empire and thrived as merchants. In 1855 his family left Vienna, but Anastasios remained to complete his studies. In 1858 he received his scholarship from Vienna's Highschool and gave a qualifying exam at the Vienna Technical University, which quickly left to continue at the German University of Giessen and then in Berlin. In 1859 he left Berlin and continued his studies in Karlsruhe, where he studied until 1861 to complete his studies at the University of Heidelberg. During his studies he was an assistant to several of his professors, and after his graduation, he worked in factories as a chemist.

Academic career

In 1862, he returned to Greece as a Doctor of Philosophy and was appointed to the Greek National Teaching School. In 1863, at the request of the then Minister of Education, Epaminondas Deligeorgis, he was first recruited as a lecturer and then taught chemistry at the University of Athens until 1906, while he became rector of the University from 1897 to 1898.

In 1866 he participated in the committee of Greek experts who attended volcanic activity in Nea Kameni, Santorini. During his stay in Santorini he was promoted on 13 April 1866 from lecturer to assistant professor of General Chemistry at the University of Athens. The period from 18 January 1868 to 1906 was full Professor of General Chemistry at the University of Athens. During the academic year 1872-1873 he was dean of the School of Philosophy and in 1905-1906 of the School of Sciences.

In 1887, the Central Chemistry Laboratory of the Greek state was established on Solonos street in Athens (now Old Chimion), in which Chrisomanos oversaw the construction. It started in 1889. On October 24, 1895, Chrisomannos, together with professors Konstantinos Mitsopoulos, Timoleon Argyropoulos, Spyridon Miliarakis, Nikolaos Apostolides and Anastasios Damvigis, filed a memorandum to the Greek state (all Greek Universities were and are public and subject of the ministry of education) proposing the formation of a Physical-Mathematical School, essentially separating the Departments of Physics and Mathematics from the Philosophical School. The separation was finally accomplished by Royal Decree on 3 June 1904. Christomanos represented Greece in several international scientific conferences, such as Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest and Rome. In 1883 he undertook and supervised the work of public lighting in Athens.

Personal life

In 1866 he married Athena Lindenmayer, the daughter of the courtier of Greek palace, Bavarian doctor Anton Lindenmayer. From this marriage had four sons and a daughter. His son was the writer Konstantinos Chrisomannos.

Death

He died in Athens on October 2, 1906 from kidney cancer.

Scientific Work

His most important scientific work was the determination of the specific gravity of silver, methods for the determination of alkali metals, artificial biphenyl synthesis and the composition of chromite ores in Greece.

He wrote a total of 73 textbooks, scientific papers and publications. Between them:

  • Analysis Tables (Αναλυτικοί πίνακες), 1885
  • Elements of Chemistry (in Education) Στοιχεία Χημείας (δια την εκπαίδευσιν), 1887
  • Inorganic and Organic Chemistry A, (Ανόργανος και οργανική χημεία , τόμος Α΄), 1887
  • Inorganic and Organic Chemistry B, (Ανόργανος και οργανική χημεία , τόμος Β΄), 1887
  • Introduction to Chemistry, (Εισαγωγή εις την χημεία),1891
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References
  1. nkir. "Digital Library - PDF Document". efimeris.nlg.gr. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
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