Having arrived in the United States penniless in 1876, Hagop Bogigian in a short while established a flourishing Oriental rug business in Boston, which brought him financial success, as well as contact with Boston’s literary and social elite. Called “the first Armenian-American millionaire,” upon retirement, Bogigian embarked in his true passions: corrections of injustices, advancing the rights of American labor, and various philanthropic causes.
Loyal to his roots, Bogigian also devoted his resources to his less fortunate countrymen. He raised American sympathies to the Armenian Question in Ottoman Turkey. True to humanitarian causes, Bogigian also earmarked funds to help educational institutions, establishing full scholarships for needy and worthy young Armenian women at various colleges. He lived a remarkable life, providing a model for generations to remember their roots and to serve mankind.
