Constantine Goulimis

Background

Goulimis was born in Athens, on 13 July 1886, and studied law in Athens, Paris, London, Rome and Berlin where he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy.

Career

He discovered several species of Greek plants. He practised law in Athens and was, for some time, legal advisor to the British Embassy in Athens (receiving the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1962). During the Second World War, when in South Africa, Goulimis became interested in botany.

Upon his return to Greece in 1945 and until his death on 20 May 1963, he visited many regions of Greece in search of plants.

His collection of plants (herbarium) is stored in The Goulandris Museum of Natural History. He authored Wild Flowers of Greece, which was illustrated by Niki Goulandris and several other texts.

Among the plants Goulimis discovered:

Anthyllis serpenticola

Campanula goulimyi

Crocus goulimyi

Inula serpentinica

Linaria hellenica

Linum goulimyi

Silene goulimyi

Tulipa goulimyi.

Achievements

• He was the grandfather of Constantine Goulimis, founder of Greycon and grandson of another Constantine Goulimis, who fought in the siege of Missolonghi during the Greek War of Independence and later became a lawyer

Membership

In 1945 he was a member of the Greek delegation to San Francisco for the United Nations Conference on International Organization that led to the formation of the United Nations.