JOHANN JAKOB MEYER

Johann Jakob Meyer (1798-1826) was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He studied pharmacy and later medicine at the University of Freiburg, but did not complete his studies. Meyer came to Greece upon the outbreak of the Greek Revolution in 1821 and settled in Messolonghi. He converted to the Christian Orthodox faith and married a local girl, Altani Inglezi, turning her house into a hospital and also setting up a pharmacy. Meyer is rightly considered the father of Greek journalism, as he published and edited the first Greek newspaper, Ellinika Chronika (Hellenic Chronicles), from 1824 until a Turkish bomb destroyed the printing press in 1826. The newspaper is a valuable source of information on the dramatic siege of the city. Meyer emerges from his writings as a champion of liberty, democracy and freedom of the press. He was killed during the Exodus of Messolonghi along with his wife and two children.