27 Facts About Calouste Gulbenkian

Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was an Ottoman-born British Armenian businessman and philanthropist.

Calouste Gulbenkian 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.

Calouste Gulbenkian's family are believed to be descendants of the Rshtunis, a noble Armenian family - Amira - centred on the Lake Van region in the 4th century AD.

Calouste Gulbenkian's family established close relations with the House of Osman.

Sarkis Calouste Gulbenkian provided oil to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was born on 23 March 1869 in Scutari, in the Ottoman capital Constantinople.

Calouste Gulbenkian received his early education at Aramyan-Uncuyan, a local Armenian school.

Calouste Gulbenkian then attended the Lycee Saint-Joseph French school and continued his studies at Robert College.

Calouste Gulbenkian was a brilliant student and graduated in 1887 at the age of 18 with a first-class degree in engineering and applied sciences.

Calouste Gulbenkian later wrote an article entitled La Transcaucasie et la peninsule d'Apcheron; souvenirs de voyage which appeared in the Revue des deux Mondes, a French language monthly literary and cultural affairs magazine.

Calouste Gulbenkian had to return to the Ottoman Empire, but in 1896, Gulbenkian and his family fled the empire due to the Hamidian massacres of Armenians.

Still in his twenties, Calouste Gulbenkian moved to London in 1897 where he arranged deals in the oil business.

Calouste Gulbenkian emerged as a major shareholder of the newly formed company, Royal Dutch Shell.

Calouste Gulbenkian was a member of a British technical team to Turkey and, later, a director of the National Bank of Turkey, which was established to support British designs.

At first, the British Foreign Office supported the d'Arcy group to gain a share and replace Calouste's share, but Gulbenkian worked closely with French concerns, arranged for the French to receive the German's share as part of the spoils of victory, and, in return, the French protected his interest.

Calouste Gulbenkian saw advantage in divesting the vast majority of his concession so that corporations would be able to develop the whole.

In 1938, before the beginning of World War II, Calouste Gulbenkian incorporated a Panamanian company to hold his assets in the oil industry.

From this "Participations and Explorations Corporation" came the "Partex Oil and Gas Corporation", a subsidiary of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation headquartered in Lisbon until 2019.

Calouste Gulbenkian amassed a huge fortune and an art collection which he kept in a private museum at his Paris house.

From Rene Lalique alone, Calouste Gulbenkian commissioned more than 140 works over nearly 30 years.

Calouste Gulbenkian wanted to provide "spiritual comfort" to the Armenian community and a place of gathering for "dispersed Armenians," according to a message written by Calouste Gulbenkian to the Catholicos of All Armenians.

Calouste Gulbenkian helped establish a nurses' home at the hospital after selling his wife's jewellery.

Calouste Gulbenkian was president of the Armenian General Benevolent Union from 1930 to 1932, resigning as a result of a smear campaign by Soviet Armenia, an Armenian newspaper based in Armenia SSR.

Calouste Gulbenkian was a major benefactor of Nubarashen and Nor Kesaria, which were newly founded settlements consisting of refugees from the Armenian genocide.

In 1937, Calouste Gulbenkian purchased a property near Deauville and called it Les Enclos.

Calouste Gulbenkian left France in late 1942 for Lisbon and lived there until his death, in a suite at the luxurious Aviz Hotel, on 20 July 1955, aged 86.

Calouste Gulbenkian's ashes were buried at St Sarkis Armenian Church in London.