| The Kalokairinos family has contributed in various ways to economic, political and cultural life on Crete. This article presents the family’s history from c. 1830, when Andreas Dimitriou Kalokairinos set about establishing the mercantile, industrial and banking concern which grew to be the most important of its kind on the island, until 1930, when Andreas Lysimachou Kalokairinos disbursed the greater part of his wealth to establish charitable foundations. Family members involved in politics included Andreas D. Kalokairinos, vice-consul of the Two Sicilies, and his son Lysimachos, British vice-consul. Andreas L. Kalokairinos enjoyed a long and varied life in public affairs. Lastly, a notable contribution was also made by Minos Kalokairinos, who made the first systematic attempt to excavate Knossos in 1878. |