Stamatios Kleanthis was born in Kozani, Macedonia, in 1802. As a teenager, he moved to Wallachia to study but was quickly swept into the Greek War of Independence. Recruited by General Alexander Ypsilanti, he joined the war’s first organized military unit. He fought in several battles before being captured at the Battle of Dragashani. After escaping Ottoman captivity, he travel through Europe, studying architecture at several prestigious universities, before returning to Greece. In 1828, Kleanthis and his partner, Eduard Schaubert, were appointed public engineers by the new Greek head of state,…
