Birth of Mgrdich Sanasarian (April 10, 1818)

Mgrdich Sanasarian was a benefactor of Armenian causes who played an important role in educational and cultural undertakings during the second half of the nineteenth century. 

He was born on April 10, 1818, in Tiflis (Tbilisi), to a family originally from Van. He was an elder first cousin of Grigor Artzruni, the famous Eastern Armenian journalist. 

Sanasarian studied in the Nersisian School of Tiflis, which had his maternal grandfather as one of its founders. He served in the Russian army (1835-1845) and was decorated with the medal of St. George. In 1849 he started working at the “Caucasus and Mercurius” shipping company, and became a member of its board of directors in 1864. He organized the naval communications between the Caucasus and Persia. In honor of his distinguished services to the company, the board of directors named one of the ships after him, and the Shah of Persia bestowed the highest decoration of the kingdom, the Shir-i-Khurshid medal, upon him.  

Sanasarian turned his attention to philanthropic activities for the benefit of the Armenian people. In response to Khrimian Hayrig’s call, several wealthy merchants from Van living in Constantinople created an educational/cultural organization named in honor of Saint Santoukhd. The organization founded the Santkhdian Girls’ School in Van (1870). In 1871 Sanasarian donated 2,000 rubles to construct the school’s building and later an additional 10,000 rubles, with the interest to be used to cover the institution’s operational costs. The school became the Santkhdian-Mariamian School in honor of the donor’s mother, Mariam Artzruni. 

Sanasarian also granted scholarships to Armenian students in the Caucasus and also covered their higher education abroad. He founded schools in the village of Kharakonis (Van) and the villages of Nizh and Vardashen in the province of Nukhi (today in Azerbaijan). He also supported the Kevorkian Lyceum of Echmiadzin and different charitable and cultural organizations. 

His most important achievement was the foundation of the Sanasarian School in Karin (Erzerum) in 1881, which started operating in 1882. Sanasarian entirely funded the school’s operations until his death. He bequeathed a large portion of his estate to the school. His testament stated: “Being an Ottoman Armenian by birth, and wishing to help my compatriots in Ottoman Armenia who share my faith and who lack access to education, I bestow all my remaining assets which I possess at the time of my death, both in Russia and abroad … For the construction and maintenance of the Armenian school that I founded and that bears my name, located in the city of Karin in the Ottoman Empire, where my compatriots are in greater need for education institutions.”  

Sanasarian passed away on May 19, 1889, in Paris, without leaving descendants. He was buried in the courtyard of the Armenian Cathedral in Tiflis.