Sir Alec Issigonis and His Family Background
The most famous car designer in Britain Mediterranean . A major producer of raisins and figs the city flourished as a cosmopolitan centre with abundant cultural life in the form of numerous outstanding schools, cultural societies, a theatre, and a university which was due to start in the same year the city was burned. The dominant Greek element was supplemented with some Armenians, and an assortment of Europeans. The minor Turkish element played only a subordinate role in the commercial life of the city.
Family History :
Venice to Paros
The original family name was Cigonias, which means stork in Italian. According to the family tradition a member of the Cigonia family was on a Venetian ship when it ran aground near Paros during the Crusades. The Venetian Doge Pashalis Cigonias (Doge between 1585 and 1595) was considered a member of the family and many were familiar with his portrait (oil painting) at the Doge Palace in Venice Venice
In the early 1800’s the Greeks of Smyrne obtained some concessions from the Sultan, and as a result trade and commerce increased. As opportunities arose, so did immigration from the Greek islands and the hinterland of Asia Minor . It was the place to travel and get a job, unheard of in previous times when the whip of the Turk was a handicap to any commercial activity.
Paros to Smyrne
The oldest member of the Cigonias family on personal records is Michael Cigonias who was born around 1750 at Tsipido, as it was called then. He had three sons, two of them -Antonios and Ioannis- immigrated to Smyrne around 1830 and both changed their names to Issigonis to be more Greek-like. The double ‘’ss’ was necessary so that it won’t be pronounced ‘’z’ by the dominant French element there. However, a third son stayed behind (Georgios) and his last name was unchanged.
Today, many members of the Cigonia family still live at Marpissa (new name for Tsipido), although over the years some have moved to theAthens
Brief History of Smyrne
The city was established around 1130 B.C. either by Tantalos or Thyseas in memory of his wife Smyrna Bay of Smyrne Ephesus , he called these cities “the eyes of Asia ” and tried to connect them by building a canal between them.
Smyrne’s most famous citizen is Homer. Strabo calls Smyrne “the best city of all”.
One of the seven churches of the Revelation was in Smyrne during the early Christian Eras.
The Turks first conquered the city in 1084. In 1402 Tamerlane razed the city to the ground , beheaded 1000 citizens and built a monument with their skulls and stones. The city suffered severe damage from earthquakes in 1048, 1688 and 1778, ironically all of them taking place during the month of June.
The population in 1717 was 15,000 Ottomans, 10,000 Greeks and about 1000 others. In 1817, the total climbed to 150,000, of which 60,000 were Greeks. According to the census of 1921 (the last census done in Asia Minor or Turkey to this day), the Turks made up only 18% of Asia Minor .
Since 1921, however, an estimated 2 million Greeks were killed, tortured, or expelled.
Demosthenes : a mechanical genius
Georgio’s son Demosthenes (1828-1898), –Sir Alec’s grandfather, - moved to Smyrne at the invitation of his uncle Antonios who owned a school there. However, young Demosthenes was not interested much in the schools and began his activities in marine engineering by creating his own shipbuilding enterprise in 1854. It grew immensely and became the largest in the Eastern Mediterranean . In 1865 it moved to its final site at Punta (from the French “point” or the peninsula, the end of the Smyrne harbor). They would build anything from sowing needles to steam engines for the British company that operated one of the rail lines in Asia Minor . He obtained the monopoly on rail repairs of this company, so for this reason he was given the British citizenship, something that would prove vital for the survival of members of his family in times of war.
Demosthenes must have been a master mechanic to say the least. His factory was famous throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and he opened a branch at Beirut
The factory stopped operating some time after 1922 and remains closed in today’s Izmir
(Smyrne was established by the Ancient Greeks, however, people speaking Turkish are not able to pronounce the Greek words, so they have modified the Greek names. This phenomenon is true all around Asia Minor on town names as well as mountains, rivers, etc. For reference to this phenomenon the reader can look at the index of the “Map of Asia Minor with Greek Names, 1994” published by the author)
When Demosthenes died in 1898 the factory reverted to his sons Nikolaos, Constantine, and Miltiades while Nicolaos’s son Alexandros worked in a retail outlet in downtown Smyrne.
The ownership of the factory was lost during the World War I when Britain fought against Turkey
The 1922 Genocide and Escape
The Greek part of Smyrne was burned by the Turkish army in 1922 and proceeded to a systematic genocide of the Greek and Armenian populations, the dominant elements in Smyrne at the time. British–passport holders and other foreigners were notified in time and were evacuated, while the Greek-Armenian population was purposely kept in the dark and was surprised by the advancing Turkish army with its dreaded paramilitary tsete forces which committed most of the atrocities.
The Greek population of Smyrne numbered 180,000 according to the 1921 census. Some were saved by foreign ships, but the military armada of the American, British , French, etc refused to pick up any of the thousands fleeing from the burning Smyrne and Greeks fleeing from the western part of Asia Minor . The Greeks were the majority of the population and plans were on hand to declare the independentRepublic of Western Asia Minor
The survivors have spread all around the world. They are mostly Greeks, some Armenians and some Assyrians.
This is one of humanity’s worst cases of planned genocide. It was preceded by the systematic genocide of the Armenians in 1915 in the eastern parts of Asia Minor, and the genocide against the Pontian Greeks of northern Asia Minor between 1890 and 1922. It was carried out by the Turks with the “Allies “ supplying military equipment and ammunition in return for trade rights in Turkey
In this way, the British-passport holders, including members of the Issigonis family
survived the war of 1922. Whereas Sir Alec’s family headed for Malta and then England , other members that escaped the slaughter of the Turks travelled to Greece
One of Sir Alec’s eleven known first cousins –Demosthenes-was killed by the Turks in 1922. The remaining ten settled in the Athens
An engineer in Greece
There are many members of the Cigonias / Issigonis family tree that have excelled in their own fields. Sir Alec’s grandfather Demosthenes was an outstanding example of engineering and business acumen. In Smyrne he found the appropriate environment to use his capabilities to the fullest in the mid to late 1800’s. The same is true of Sir Alec in mid 1900’s in England Greece
John Issigonis (cousin to Sir Alec) was an outstanding civil engineer and had many inventions and innovations to his credit, but his achievements are virtually unknown. Credit has recently been given to him when the National Bank of Greece
All of the numerous Bank branches that he built were designed with classical Ancient Greece in mind.
Another favourite part of his activities was the study of hydroelectric dams and the Parnitha Peripheral Ditch for collection of water to replenish Lake of Marathon and at the same time serve as anti-flood control for the city of Athens
The city of Athens has suffered many catastrophic floods since. Still his studies were ignored and no other flood controls have been adopted since.
Other highlights of his work :
- Supervised all the construction of the suburb of Philothey, Athens
- Had the sole responsibility for the construction of the coastal suburb of Saronida
- Completed the construction of the Panathinaikos football Stadium
He regretted not to have emigrated to Canada Greece for his proposals to be accepted by the authorities.
How different was the environment in England at the same time!
An engineer in England
Sir Alec’s achievements in the design of the Morris Minor and the Mini are well known worldwide. His success is due to the free enterprise system in
There was no distinction because of race or name, no interference from political parties or government, it was a place of freedom.
His ancestors in Turkey
Sir Alec’s character
He had advanced thinking and strong determination. He was arrogant in his engineering and had scant regard for styling and market research. He was a born engineer, in other words, capable of making something that is needed. All he wanted to deliver was what was needed. Luxuries, such as radios, and fancy seats, etc were not really needed at first. They became essential later once the main purpose had been accomplished.
In order to do that he had an extraordinary vision and considerable stubbornness. So he refused to compromise his ideas. Because his mandate was to design an economy car, he became obsessed with space. His design philosophy: “Less is more”
He argued that others build cars to last for a few years, but his car would last for ever! He was right, too!
Some of his sayings
When he studied engineering he failed Math repeatedly. In the end he was given a diploma, not a degree. He must have suffered much trying to do his math, so he declared “Pure math is the enemy of every truly creative man”.
He appeared in many shows due to his eccentric manner and entertaining personality and had many famous people as his friends, especially among the royalty. Examples are Lord Snowdon and Sir
Other sayings: “One thing I learned the hard way-well, not the hard way, the easy way- when you are designing a new car for production, never, never copy the opposition”
“ A camel is a horse designed by a committee”
After the Mini car was established as a new fashion in cars, it was time for the clothing fashion to copy it. This was accomplished by Mary Quant in the 1960’s with the mini-skirt which was “not any longer than absolutely necessary”.
In 1996, the House of Commons praised him as the author of a great British innovation, the start of a new design trend towards smaller cars. After all he is the only British car designer to enjoy an international reputation.
His technical achievements
His first success was the mosquito project, Morris Minor, the first British car to sell more than a million. The Mini was even a bigger success. The car did not boast new technology – even the transverse engine had been done before. The genius was in how the components were arranged within the tiny body. This is because he was asked to design a new economy car when world oil supplies were getting low.
The masterstroke was placing the gearbox under the engine so that the two used the same oil supply. This ingenuity solved the space problem.
By placing the power unit transversely in the Mini, the engine supported front wheel drive. Virtually all car manufacturers copied this last innovation.
In some places like North America and northern Europe , front wheel is absolutely necessary for driving on snow or ice covered road surfaces that last for a few months of the year.
The other innovation started with the Mini was to use a suspension system with rubber springs instead of the more typical steel springs. This resulted in a compact, all-independent suspension unheard of in a small car. Rubber apparently is one of the substances that stiffen as the load increases.
Finally, the car had tiny 10 inch wheels and a boot lid that folded down to form a platform for carrying Sir Alec’s lawn mower !
In the Mini story, the most significant event as far as the production staff were concerned was Sir Alec’s monumental 11th hour decision to widen the car by 4 inches !
The Mini has been voted as “The Car of the Century” by some automobile magazines.
References :
- Oikonomou,K., Aftoshedia diatrivi peri Smyrnis, 1831
- Rene Puaux, The last days of Smyrne, translated in 1993
- Margarita Issigoni:, Demosthenes Georgiou Issigonis, Mikrasiatiki Iho, Aug. 2002
- Kontoyanni,P.,Geography of Asia Minor , 1921,reprinted 1995
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