Nikolaos Jorge Colmaniatis was born on the island of Hydra in 1786. There is evidence of his presence in Argentina since 1810, although the exact date of his arrival in the country cannot be confirmed.
Before the foundation of the “Argentine Armada”, he acted as a privateer from the Río de la Plata.
In 1814 he joined the national liberation struggle against the Spanish with Admiral Guillermo Brown, the so-called “Father of the Nation at Sea”.
He was captain of different vessels and his life was seriously endangered in two shipwrecks and in military operations. He fought against the “caudillos” at home and against Brazil when it declared war on Argentina.
He died at the age of 80 in Morón on August 24, 1866, completing 50 years in the service of his second homeland, Argentina, being one of the longest-serving officers of his time.
Admiral Guillermo Brown recounts how he met Jorge, who never used his Greek name, and says he was a tremendously brave but also modest man.
In 1937, Argentina sent a brass plate on the warship “Sarmiento” in which two women, Argentina and Greece, are depicted crowning Colmaniatis.
The plaque was opened at the monument located in the port of Hydra, next to the School of Merchant Mariners.
In November 1949, Evita Perón donated a bronze bust of him in the Historical Archive and Museum of Hydra, where it is exhibited until today.
– César Villamayor Revythis, creator of the research project ‘Greek Fire in the Waters of South America’, President of the Standing Committee of Honor for Greek Seafarers of Argentina, Member of the Instituto Nacional Browniano
(The photo below shows César Villamayor Revythis with retired Admiral and president of the Instituto Nacional Browniano, Daniel Alberto Enrique Martin. Behind them are portraits of Argentine heroes, among them Nicolas Jorge Colmaniatis.)
