Armenian Contribution For Betterment Of Humanity
Location: Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey
Area: total: 29,800 sq km - land: 28,400 sq km (11,506 sq mi)- water: 1,400 sq km - slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 1,254 km - border countries: Azerbaijan-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km
Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters
Geography: landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range
Population: 2,991,360 (estimated 8 to 10 million around the world)
Capital: Yerevan 1,254,400
No Nation This Small
Has Contributed So Much To Humanity And Civilization
Agop Terzan: Discovered globular star clusters Terzan 1, Terzan 2, ... Terzan 11 in a far red survey of the milky way.
Alex Manoogian (Richard Manoogian brother): In 1929 Alex Manoogian organizes Masco Screw Products Company in Detroit, Michigan, machining parts for the automotive industry. Masco acquires rights to a single-handle washerless faucet and Alex Manoogian begins redesigning the product and in 1954 Masco begins production and marketing of the Delta single-handle faucet.
Andre Agassi: 1970-, American tennis player.
Ara Parseghian: Head coach for the University of Notre Dame football team from 1964-1974.
Aram Khachaturian Ilich: 1903-78, Russian composer of Armenian parentage.
Arlene Francis (Kazanjian): Breezy actress who was a mainstay on television's What's My Line? She was a panelist on the show for 25 years. Other acting credits include the films All My Sons (1948) and The Thrill of It All (1963) and the Broadway shows The Little Blue Light (1951) and The Doughgirls (1942).
Atom Egoyan: his most critically acclaimed creation is Sweet Hereafter, The (1997) and his most famous work is the astonishingly clever film-in-film Ararat (2002)
Ardashes Aykanian: Bendy straw, Spoon straw, first form of Tupperware, strip on car windshields, Coca-Cola Plastic bottle production machine.
Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan: An Armenian / Soviet aircraft designer, in partnership with Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich he designed many of the famous MiG military aircraft.
Avie Tevanian: Apple Computer Mac OS X.
Benon Sevan: A national of Cyprus, was appointed by the Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as the Executive Director of the Iraq Programme. As Executive Director of the Iraq Programme, Mr. Sevan is responsible for the overall management and supervision of the implementation of the humanitarian programme in Iraq (the Oil-for-Food Programme). Undersecretary of the United Nations.
Boris Babaian: Created Russia's First Supercomputer.
Calouste Gulbenkian: Armenian oil magnate, art connoisseur and philanthropist Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869-1955).
Charles Aznavour: Born Chahnour Varenagh Aznaourian. He is perhaps the best-known French music hall entertainer in the world -- renowned the world over for the bittersweet love songs he has written and sung, which seem to embody the essence of French popular song, and also for his appearances on screen .
Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere): Academy Award-winning pop star turned actress turned infomercial queen whose films include Moonstruck (1987), for which she won a Best Actress Oscar, The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and Tea with Mussolini (1998). Cher and her first husband, Sonny Bono, sang as a duo and had a hit television series, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971-74). Her recordings include Heart of Stone (1989) and Believe (1999).
David Shakarian: Founder of General Nutrition Corporation.
Dennis Agajanian: His fame as a christan recording artist and performer is wide spread. Playing over 200 concerts a year, Dennis has had the opportunity to travel to over seventy-three countries. He has ministered with the BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION for over twenty years.
Eric Bogosian: As performance artist, he is known especially for his witty and satiric one-man shows chronicling modern culture. He appeared on film as a controversial radio talk show host in Talk Radio (1988), which he adapted with Oliver Stone from his original stage play. He also acted in Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll (1991), another stage play that he adapted for film.
Gary Kasparov: Chess champion
George Aghajanian: physician, neuropharmacologist and pioneer in serotonin receptor research.
George Deukmejian: Former governor of California. During his eight- year term, Deukmejian appointed 1,000 judges, and by the time he left office, he had appointed the majority of California State Supreme Court Justices then serving on the bench.
Haig Kafafian: Cybermetics Communication systems for the physically impaired, Cybertype, Cyberphone and Cybercom which enabled those who are deaf, blind, disabled, or without limbs to communicate.
Hampar Kelikian: Limb Restoration Surgical Techniques.
Hovhaness Adamyan: Principles of color Television Broadcasting.
Hovhannes Aivazovski: He is the most interesting phenomenon of 19th century art.
James Bagian, M.D.: He has been responsible for the development program and implementation of the pressure suit used for crew escape and various other crew survival equipment to be used on future Shuttle missions, and is in charge of Shuttle search and rescue planning and implementation for the Astronaut Office. A veteran of two space flights (STS-29 in 1989 and STS-40 in 1991), Dr. Bagian has logged over 337 hours in space.
Jerry Tarkanian: Amassed 778 wins in 31 years at Long Beach St., UNLV and Fresno St.; led UNLV to 4 Final Fours and 1 national title (1990); fought battle with NCAA over purity of UNLV program; quit as coach after going 26-2 in 1991-92; fired after 20 games (9-11) as coach of NBA San Antonio Spurs in 1992; unretired in 1995 to coach his alma mater, Fresno St.; retired again in 2002.
Jirayr Tezel: Hair Follicle plug Transplant Device.
Kirk Kerkorian: American financier; chairman and major stockholder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation; real estate investor; purchaser of the Las Vegas Strip's Flamingo Hote.
Luther Simjian: 200 Inventions including: Medical photography systems, Autofocus camera, Automatic Developing machine, ATM, Military flight simulator, ATM Machine, Self-Portrait Camera, Military Flight Simulator, Postage Meter, Teleprompter, Medical Ultrasound, Golf Simulator, Meat Tenderizer, Color X-Ray Machine.
Michael Connors (Ohanian): Star of Mannix. Appeared in dozens of tv shows, movies, and other appearances.
Michel Ter-Petrossian: inventor of Positron Emission Tomography [PET scanning] which revolutionized the understanding of brain function and may hold promise in cancer detection.
Norayr Sisakyan: Founder of Cosmic Biology.
Oscar Banker (Asatour Sarafian): The creator of the first practical automatiac transmission for cars and buses, the needleless inoculation gun, the primary controls of the first Sikorsky helicopter, and the first four-color flatbed printing press.
Raffi (Cavoukian): An internationally acclaimed family entertainer, songwriter, author, and ecology and children's advocate.
Dr. Raymond Damadian: MRI diagnosis machine. Magnetic Resonance Imaging allows the insides of the body to be viewed without actually using surgery.
Robert Nalbandian: Leader in Sickle Cell Research and Testing Methods
Rupen Eksergian: US Anti-Aircraft Gun Mount and Recoil, WWI
Spandjian: Invented the famous Spandex fabric, which is named after the inventor, Spandjian.
Varaztad Kazandjian: Father of Plastic Surgery -During World War I, Dr Kazanjian used his unique surgical skill to treat the soldiers severely disfigured during combat.
William Saroyan: 1908-81, American author, b. Fresno, Calif. Of Armenian background and extremely prolific, he created works that combine optimism, sentimentality, and a rhapsodic love of country. These include plays such as The Time of Your Life (1939; Pulitzer Prize), My Heart's in the Highlands (1939), and The Cave Dwellers (1957); novels, including The Human Comedy (1942; he won a 1943 Academy Award for the screenplay he adapted from the book) and Boys and Girls Together (1963); short-story volumes, notably The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934), his first published book, and My Name is Aram (1940); and such autobiographical works as Here Comes, There Goes You Know Who (1961) and Places Where I've Done Time (1972).
Youssouf Karsh: Photographer best known for his formal portraits of celebrities, World War II leaders, and artists. His subjects included Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, Ernest Hemingway, and Georgia O'Keeffe
Zildjian Family (Avetis Zildjian): Manufacturers - The centuries-old story of Avedis Zildjian is rich in cymbalism. Zildjian, the world's #1 maker of cymbals, is the oldest family-run company in the US. In 1623 Turkey, Armenian alchemist Avedis created an alloy for making cymbals. (A sultan named him "Zildjian," or cymbalsmith.) The company moved to America in 1929. Traditionally, the father passed the secret metallurgical formula on to the eldest son, but in 1976 Craigie Zildjian (named CEO in 1999) became the first female family member employed there. Zildjian also makes drumsticks and, through subsidiary Malletech, other percussion instruments. Craigie's uncle Robert owns rival cymbal-maker Sabian, which also uses the secret formula.