Aleko Axel August Eugen Lilius (2 April1890 – 24June 1977) was an explorer, businessman, diplomat, writer, journalist, and photographer of Finnish, Swedish, and Russian extraction. He has been described as an English journalist, a Russian Finn, an American of Finnish origin, a Swedish journalist and adventurer, and an intrepid American journalist. He is the author of I Sailed with Chinese Pirates, an account of the time he spent among pirates of the South China seas.[1]
Lilius was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 2 April1890. His father was a senior translator for the Senate of Finland and served as a staff captain in the Izmaylovsky Regiment. His mother was Natalia Starck who was born in the Caucasus and was the daughter of major general Julius Starck.[2][3][4]
Before World War I, Lilius was an enterprising businessman whose colorful exploits attracted much publicity. In 1916, Lilius was the highest taxed private individual in Finland as a private banker who owned the Privatbanken I Helsingfors.[4]
As a young man, he explored much of the Americas, China, North Africa, and South Africa, before settling down for a while in the Philippines.[5] Lilius' writing was based on his wide-ranging travels in places such as China, Morocco, and Mexico. The first mention of Lilius as a writer is as the author of the script for the 1919 Finnish film Venusta etsimässä eli erään nuoren miehen ihmeelliset seikkailut (In Search of Venus or The Marvelous Adventures of a Young Man). In China in 1927, he rescued the remnants of the American flag from the looted American consulate in Nanking.[6] While in the Philippines, he participated in a project to photograph the Bugkalot tribe.[7] During the 1920s and 1930s, Lilius worked as a foreign correspondent in Asia and North Africa. During the 1920s, he worked with linguist Rudolf Schuller as a photographer in Mexico. In the 1930s, Lilius lived in the United States, residing in the Armour–Stiner Octagon House in Irvington, New York.
He ran into conflict with the law several times in the 1930s. According to an article in the Singaporean The Straits Times, Lilius was convicted of fraud and "sentenced to two months hard labour" in 1929.[8] Four years later while in the Philippines, he was again pronounced guilty of fraud for issuing four checks with insufficient funds and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison plus required to pay what he owed. Lilius appealed to a higher court for a reversal of the lower court's decision; his appeal was successful and the charges were reversed.[9]
Lilius sued a Philippine railroad company after the car in which he and has family were traveling was hit by a locomotive in 1931. Although he won the suit in a lower court, the railroad company appealed to the Supreme Court. Lilius again succeeded and was awarded P30,865.[10]
In the 1950s he lived in Morocco. In 1958 he moved to Helsinki, Finland, and later devoted himself to painting. Lilius died on 24June 1977 in Helsinki, Finland.
Works
I Sailed with Chinese Pirates
Lilius is primarily remembered as the author of I Sailed with Chinese Pirates, an account of the time he spent among the pirates of the South China seas. The original review in The New York Times (27July 1931) reads in part:
A meeting with a mysterious woman pirate chief, Lai Choi San, with several thousand ruthless buccaneers under command ... Aleko E. Lilius, English journalist, while traveling in the Orient, according to the publishers, succeeded in winning the confidence of this unusual woman, and he accompanied her and some of her desperadoes on one of their expeditions on a junk equipped with cannon ... the only white man who has ever sailed with these pirates[11]
Lai Choi San is widely believed to be the source of inspiration for the character of the Dragon Lady, the oriental femme fatale in Milton Caniff"s comic strip Terry and the Pirates. Lilius referred to Lai Choi San as Queen of the Pirates rather than Dragon Lady, but Caniff did use the Chinese name for his character. According to one source, this was the cause of a later legal dispute between Lilius and the syndicate that produced the comic strip.[12]
A review of the 1991 Oxford University Press reprint says the book is "a good read in the sensational nineteen-twenties style of journalism ... briskly moving but somewhat superficial".[citation needed]
Partial bibliography
(1919) Herr C.G's politiska affärer (Mr. C G's Political Affairs)
(1920s) Extensive photography for the Rudolf Schuller Papers. These papers consist of field notes, vocabulary lists, manuscripts, and photos from Schuller's studies of a variety of Mexican and Central American Indian languages and dialects, with particular emphasis on the culture and language of the Huastecan Indians. The collection is now in the hands of the Middle American Research Institute of Tulane University.
(1928) Min kinesiska Krigsbok (My Chinese War Diary). Publisher: Hökerbergs
(1931) Lilius, Aleko E. (1931). I Sailed with Chinese Pirates. New York: D. Appleton & Co.
(1948) The Romantic Thousand Islands, Their Towns and Times. Publisher: Holliday Publications Ltd., Canada.
(1956) Lilius, Aleko E. (1956). Turbulent Tangier. London: Elek Books. ISBN9789881815446. OCLC 28756841.
(1956) Ung man i farten (Memoirs: A Young Man's Journey)
(1957) Ett herrans liv (Memoirs: A Gentleman's Life)
(1962) The Romantic Thousand Islands: Photographs – Maps – History. Publisher: Wallace
Lilius also published a number of free-lance articles in magazines such as Argosy (UK) (May 1947), Stag (Feb 1952), Adventure Magazine (Jan 1953), The Wide World (Sep 1930, Publisher: George Newnes Ltd, London); and The Sphere Illustrated Newspaper (London) (4 July 1931), which was "a brief sketch of the Sultan of Sulu, courted by the U.S. in an effort to defuse Moro hostility during its governance of the Philippines"; and (1964) The Sultan of Sulu tells how England 'stole' North Borneo.
(1991) Lilius, Aleko E. (1991). I Sailed with Chinese Pirates. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press reprint. ISBN0-19-585297-4.
References
^Lilius, Aleko E. (1991). I Sailed with Chinese Pirates. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-585297-4.
^"Liliuksen suvun vaiheita". www.saunalahti.fi. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
^[G.R. No. L-38774 December 23, 1933 The People of the Philippine Islands, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. Aleko Lilius Defendant-Appellant from ChanRobles Virtual Law Library http://www.chanrobles.com]
^"ALEKO E. LILIUS, ET AL. v. THE MANILA RAILROAD COMPANY - [1934] PHSC 75 (24 March 1934)". www.asianlii.org. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
^. Archived from the original on 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
External links
Lilius, Aleko in the Biografiskt lexikon för Finland. (in Swedish)
Excerpt from the Arthur Ransome website.
February 02, 2023
aleko, lilius, aleko, axel, august, eugen, lilius, april, 1890, june, 1977, explorer, businessman, diplomat, writer, journalist, photographer, finnish, swedish, russian, extraction, been, described, english, journalist, russian, finn, american, finnish, origin. Aleko Axel August Eugen Lilius 2 April 1890 24 June 1977 was an explorer businessman diplomat writer journalist and photographer of Finnish Swedish and Russian extraction He has been described as an English journalist a Russian Finn an American of Finnish origin a Swedish journalist and adventurer and an intrepid American journalist He is the author of I Sailed with Chinese Pirates an account of the time he spent among pirates of the South China seas 1 Aleko LiliusBornAleko Axel August Eugen Lilius 1890 04 02 2 April 1890Helsinki FinlandDied24 June 1977 1977 06 24 aged 87 Helsinki FinlandNationalityFinnishNotable workI Sailed with Chinese Pirates 1931 Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 2 1 I Sailed with Chinese Pirates 3 Partial bibliography 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditLilius was born in Saint Petersburg Russia on 2 April 1890 His father was a senior translator for the Senate of Finland and served as a staff captain in the Izmaylovsky Regiment His mother was Natalia Starck who was born in the Caucasus and was the daughter of major general Julius Starck 2 3 4 Before World War I Lilius was an enterprising businessman whose colorful exploits attracted much publicity In 1916 Lilius was the highest taxed private individual in Finland as a private banker who owned the Privatbanken I Helsingfors 4 As a young man he explored much of the Americas China North Africa and South Africa before settling down for a while in the Philippines 5 Lilius writing was based on his wide ranging travels in places such as China Morocco and Mexico The first mention of Lilius as a writer is as the author of the script for the 1919 Finnish film Venusta etsimassa eli eraan nuoren miehen ihmeelliset seikkailut In Search of Venus or The Marvelous Adventures of a Young Man In China in 1927 he rescued the remnants of the American flag from the looted American consulate in Nanking 6 While in the Philippines he participated in a project to photograph the Bugkalot tribe 7 During the 1920s and 1930s Lilius worked as a foreign correspondent in Asia and North Africa During the 1920s he worked with linguist Rudolf Schuller as a photographer in Mexico In the 1930s Lilius lived in the United States residing in the Armour Stiner Octagon House in Irvington New York He ran into conflict with the law several times in the 1930s According to an article in the Singaporean The Straits Times Lilius was convicted of fraud and sentenced to two months hard labour in 1929 8 Four years later while in the Philippines he was again pronounced guilty of fraud for issuing four checks with insufficient funds and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison plus required to pay what he owed Lilius appealed to a higher court for a reversal of the lower court s decision his appeal was successful and the charges were reversed 9 Lilius sued a Philippine railroad company after the car in which he and has family were traveling was hit by a locomotive in 1931 Although he won the suit in a lower court the railroad company appealed to the Supreme Court Lilius again succeeded and was awarded P30 865 10 In the 1950s he lived in Morocco In 1958 he moved to Helsinki Finland and later devoted himself to painting Lilius died on 24 June 1977 in Helsinki Finland Works EditI Sailed with Chinese Pirates Edit Lilius is primarily remembered as the author of I Sailed with Chinese Pirates an account of the time he spent among the pirates of the South China seas The original review in The New York Times 27 July 1931 reads in part A meeting with a mysterious woman pirate chief Lai Choi San with several thousand ruthless buccaneers under command Aleko E Lilius English journalist while traveling in the Orient according to the publishers succeeded in winning the confidence of this unusual woman and he accompanied her and some of her desperadoes on one of their expeditions on a junk equipped with cannon the only white man who has ever sailed with these pirates 11 Lai Choi San is widely believed to be the source of inspiration for the character of the Dragon Lady the oriental femme fatale in Milton Caniff s comic strip Terry and the Pirates Lilius referred to Lai Choi San as Queen of the Pirates rather than Dragon Lady but Caniff did use the Chinese name for his character According to one source this was the cause of a later legal dispute between Lilius and the syndicate that produced the comic strip 12 A review of the 1991 Oxford University Press reprint says the book is a good read in the sensational nineteen twenties style of journalism briskly moving but somewhat superficial citation needed Partial bibliography Edit 1919 Herr C G s politiska affarer Mr C G s Political Affairs 1920s Extensive photography for the Rudolf Schuller Papers These papers consist of field notes vocabulary lists manuscripts and photos from Schuller s studies of a variety of Mexican and Central American Indian languages and dialects with particular emphasis on the culture and language of the Huastecan Indians The collection is now in the hands of the Middle American Research Institute of Tulane University 1928 Min kinesiska Krigsbok My Chinese War Diary Publisher Hokerbergs 1931 Lilius Aleko E 1931 I Sailed with Chinese Pirates New York D Appleton amp Co 1948 The Romantic Thousand Islands Their Towns and Times Publisher Holliday Publications Ltd Canada 1956 Lilius Aleko E 1956 Turbulent Tangier London Elek Books ISBN 9789881815446 OCLC 28756841 1956 Ung man i farten Memoirs A Young Man s Journey 1957 Ett herrans liv Memoirs A Gentleman s Life 1962 The Romantic Thousand Islands Photographs Maps History Publisher Wallace Lilius also published a number of free lance articles in magazines such as Argosy UK May 1947 Stag Feb 1952 Adventure Magazine Jan 1953 The Wide World Sep 1930 Publisher George Newnes Ltd London and The Sphere Illustrated Newspaper London 4 July 1931 which was a brief sketch of the Sultan of Sulu courted by the U S in an effort to defuse Moro hostility during its governance of the Philippines and 1964 The Sultan of Sulu tells how England stole North Borneo 1991 Lilius Aleko E 1991 I Sailed with Chinese Pirates Hong Kong Oxford University Press reprint ISBN 0 19 585297 4 References Edit Lilius Aleko E 1991 I Sailed with Chinese Pirates Hong Kong Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 585297 4 Liliuksen suvun vaiheita www saunalahti fi Retrieved 2019 01 20 Etusivu kansallisbiografia fi Retrieved 2019 01 20 a b BLF www blf fi Retrieved 2019 01 20 Perhe hapesi erikoista vakoojaa www iltalehti fi in Finnish Retrieved 2019 01 20 Rescues Stars and Stripes The Honolulu Advertiser Honolulu HI November 12 1927 p 3 Retrieved November 12 2022 via Newspapers com Tarzans of the Philippines St Louis Globe Democrat St Louis MO March 5 1939 p 62 Retrieved November 11 2022 via Newspapers com The Straits Times 23 September 1929 p 13 G R No L 38774 December 23 1933 The People of the Philippine Islands Plaintiff Appellee vs Aleko Lilius Defendant Appellant from ChanRobles Virtual Law Library http www chanrobles com ALEKO E LILIUS ET AL v THE MANILA RAILROAD COMPANY 1934 PHSC 75 24 March 1934 www asianlii org Retrieved 2019 01 20 Writes of Pirates Led by Woman Archived via the TimesMachine The New York Times 27 July 1931 I sailed with Chinese Pirates by Aleko e Lilius Extract for Arthur Ransome Literary Pages Archived from the original on 2007 02 16 Retrieved 2007 03 19 External links EditLilius Aleko in the Biografiskt lexikon for Finland in Swedish Excerpt from the Arthur Ransome website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aleko Lilius amp oldid 1121406765, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
