Kostas Georgakis

Kostas Georgakis
Born(1948-08-23)August 23, 1948
DiedSeptember 19, 1970(1970-09-19) (aged 22)
Genoa, Italy
Cause of deathSuicide by self-immolation

Kostas Georgakis (Greek: Κώστας Γεωργάκης) (23 August 1948 – 19 September 1970) was a Greek student studying geology in Italy. On 26 July 1970, while in Italy, he gave an interview denouncing the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos. The junta retaliated by attacking him, pressuring his family, and rescinding his military exemption. In a final, fatal, protest in the early hours of 19 September 1970, Georgakis set himself ablaze in Matteotti square in Genoa. He died later that day, an estimated 1,500 people attended his 22 September funeral, with hundreds of anti-junta resistance members leading a demonstration. Melina Mercouri carried a bouquet for the hero of the anti-junta. After being briefly interred in Genoa his remains were transported by ship to Corfu, and on 18 January 1971 he was buried. After the junta collapsed the Government of Greece erected a monument and plaque in his home town of Corfu, another plaque was placed in Matteotti square, and multiple poems have been written in his honor.[1][2][3][4][5][6]


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  1. ^ "Story of Kostas in Corfu City Hall website". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2010. [a]
  2. ^ Annamaria Rivera (2012). Il fuoco della rivolta. Torce umane dal Maghreb all'Europa. Edizioni Dedalo. p. 118. ISBN 978-88-220-6322-9. Retrieved 15 March 2013.[b]
  3. ^ Helen Vlachos (1972). Griechenland, Dokumentation einer Diktatur. Jugend und Volk. ISBN 978-3-7141-7415-1. Retrieved 15 March 2013.[c]
  4. ^ Giovanni Pattavina; Oriana Fallaci (1984). Alekos Panagulis, il rivoluzionario don Chisciotte di Oriana Fallaci: saggio politico-letterario. Edizioni italiane di letteratura e scienze. p. 211. Retrieved 10 April 2013.[d]
  5. ^ Rivisteria. 2000. p. 119. Retrieved 10 April 2013.[e]
  6. ^ Kostis Kornetis (2013). Children of the Dictatorship: Student Resistance, Cultural Politics and the "Long 1960s" in Greece. Berghahn Books. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-1-78238-001-6.[f]