Calouste Gulbenkian, Turkish-Armenian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1955)
Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (, Western Armenian: Գալուստ Կիւլպէնկեան; 23 March 1869 – 20 July 1955), nicknamed "Mr Five Per Cent", was a British-Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development and is credited with being the first person to exploit Iraqi oil. Gulbenkian travelled extensively and lived in a number of cities including Istanbul, London, Paris and Lisbon.
Throughout his life, Gulbenkian was involved with many philanthropic activities including the establishment of schools, hospitals, and churches. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, a private foundation based in Portugal, was created in 1956 by his bequest and continues to promote arts, charity, education, and science throughout the world. It is now among the largest foundations in Europe. By the end of his life he had become one of the world's wealthiest people and his art acquisitions one of the greatest private collections.
1869Mar, 23
Calouste Gulbenkian
Choose Another Date
Events on 1869
- 6Mar
Periodic table
Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society. - 28Apr
First Transcontinental Railroad
Chinese and Irish laborers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the First Transcontinental Railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched. - 15May
Susan B. Anthony
Women's suffrage: In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association. - 17Nov
Suez Canal
In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is inaugurated. - 22Nov
Clipper
In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched and is one of the last clippers ever built, and the only one still surviving today.