Krikor Zohrab (1861-1915)

Krikor Zohrab (1861-1915)

Krikor Zohrab was born in 1861 in Peshiktash quarter of Constantinople. He got his primary and secondary education attending “Makruheats” School in his neighborhood and then “Targmanchats” School in Ortagyugh. He got his higher education in the State Geometric Institute of Galatasaray, and, in 1879, he was certified as a land surveyor.

In 1880, he attended the University of Jurisprudence and three years later, after getting the Lawyer’s Certificate, in 1883, he started his career as a lawyer. He also dedicated his life to the literary publicist’s as well as national public intensive activities (worked for “Massis”,  “Arevelk” and “Hayrenik”). He joined the national institutions, and in 1908, after the Ottoman constitution was adopted, he was elected as MP of the Ottoman Parliament. He was also a prominent lecturer at the State University.

With the publication of his novel “Lost Generation” in 1886, Zohrab attracted the Armenian reader and the literary intelligentsia, due to his simple, descriptive and beautiful Armenian, the scientific, intellectual, thoughtful mind and sensitive language thinking and, especially, his artistic and high quality literary taste.

“Voices of Conscience” (1909), “Silent Sicknesses” (1911) and “Life as it is” (1911), his stories collected in separate volumes are the eternal values of the Armenian literature.

Prince of Novellas and Advocate of the Armenian People Krikor Zohrab became the victim of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.