Kristo Dako

Who was Kristo Dako?

Kristo Dako, also known as Christo Dako, son of Anastas Dako, was an Albanian patriot and publisher of the early 20th century.

Born in Korçë in 1876 Dako later migrated to Bucarest, Romania, where he finished high school and later the Faculty of Mathematics. Though he had studied mathematics, Dako's passion was in ancient history. He was the strong supporter of the thesis that Albanians are descendants of the ancient Illyrians, Epirotes, and Macedonians, one of the pillars of Albanian Nationalism. Dako was the husband of Sevasti Qiriazi, Albanian patriot and pioneer of female education in Albania, from the well known Kyrias family of Monastir. The couple met in Bucharest, and moved to the US in 1907. Dako pursued there a degree in philosophy. He is remembered for initiating and opening the first Albanian school in US in 1908, located in Natick, MA. Petro Nini Luarasi taught there between others.

Dako returned shortly in Albania in June 1911, right in the middle of the Albanian Revolt of 1911, together with Charles Richard Crane of Chicago. There he would be imprisoned for a short time due to his nationalistic activities. He was released afternoon with Crane's intervention, and his persecutor Şevket Turgut Pasha immediately removed from the Ottoman authorities. Charles Crane would became one of the few lobbyist of Albania at that time, allegedly managing to influence the American government on lobbying for Albania towards the British during the London Conference of 1912–13.