chambers_search-1

Search Chambers

Consult Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, The Chambers Thesaurus (1996) or Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1997 edition with amendments). Enter your search and choose your title from the drop-down menu.

Onassis, Aristotle Socrates 1906-75
Argentine-Greek ship-owner

He was born in Smyrna, Turkey, the son of a Greek tobacco importer. At the age of 16 he left Smyrna for Greece as a refugee, and from there went to Buenos Aires where he made a fortune in tobacco and was Greek consul for a time. In 1925 he took Argentine and Greek citizenship. Buying his first ships in 1932, he built up one of the world's largest independent fleets, and was a pioneer in the construction of super-tankers. His first marriage, to Athina, daughter of Stavros Livanos, a Greek ship-owner, ended in divorce (1960), and after a long relationship with Maria Callas, in 1968 he married Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (see Jackie Kennedy Onassis), widow of US president John F Kennedy.

Bibliography: L J Davis, Onassis: Aristotle and Christina (1986)