John D. Chandris

John D. Chandris (1890–1942) was a Greek shipping magnate.

Chandris was born in Chios, then part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1915, after years of experience in the shipping industry, he bought his first ship, the S/S Dimitrios. By World War I Chandris' fleet was made up of four ships, including steamships. In 1922 he expanded into the passenger shipping market.

Following the outbreak of World War II, Chandris followed the exodus of shipowners from Greece. He moved to London where he died. Chandris ran the cruise lines until he retired in 1939. He died in 1942 after he shot himself in the chest, at the age 52.

His two sons, Anthony and Dimitri, would later rebuild the company, making it the largest Greek passenger shipping firm. A partnership called Chandris-Fantasy Cruises started in the early 1980s and later was divided into two separate arms of the Chandris Group, Fantasy-Cruises and Celebrity cruises.

External links

* [http://www.ssaustralishomepage.co.uk/chandris.html The Chandris Story]
* [http://www.celebrity.com Celebrity Cruises]