Editing Alec Issigonis (section)

==Early life and education==
[[File:Issigonis factory.jpg|thumb|The machine factory (shown here in a company letter of 1910) founded by Demosthenis Issigonis, Alec's grandfather, once a thriving Greek businesses in Smyrna (now Izmir)]]
[[File:Mini-ature Parking Space - geograph.org.uk - 1169507.jpg|thumb|The Mini as a British icon]]
[[File:The Prisoner (5631842525).jpg|thumb|Mini Moke taxi from ''[[The Prisoner]]'']]
[[File:Morris Minor 1000.JPG|thumb|Morris Minor]]
[[File:Morris Mini-Minor 1959 (621 AOK).jpg|thumb|The first Morris Mini-Minor (ADO15)]]
[[File:Austin 1100 - Flickr - mick - Lumix.jpg|thumb|Austin 1100 (ADO16)]]
[[File:Austin 1800 Automatic 1969.jpg|thumb|Austin 1800 (ADO17)]]
[[File:Austin Maxi 1980.jpg|thumb|Austin Maxi (ADO14)]]
[[File:Issigonis centenary rally Minis.jpg|right|thumb|Some of the Minis at the Issigonis centenary rally]]

Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 in the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] port city of [[Smyrna]], the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp.<ref name="Wood">{{cite news |last=Wood |first=Jonathan |date=26 July 2005 |title=He made the Mini - and broke the mould |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/features/he-made-the-mini-and-broke-the-mould-301594.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801164832/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/features/he-made-the-mini-and-broke-the-mould-301594.html |archive-date=2021-08-01 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref> His paternal grandfather, Demosthenis, had migrated to Smyrna from the Greek island of [[Paros]] in the 1830s and Constantine was a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mini.com/en_MS/home/automotive/heritage/the-creator-of-an-iconic-car-alec-issigonis.html |title=The creator of an iconic car: Alec Issigonis |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=[[Mini (marque)|MINI]] |access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref> His maternal ancestors originated in the [[Kingdom of Württemberg]]. It was through his mother's kinships that Issigonis was a first cousin once removed to [[BMW]] and [[Volkswagen]] director [[Bernd Pischetsrieder]].<ref name="Bardsley">{{cite book |last=Bardsley |first=Gillian |title=Issigonis: The Official Biography |year=2005 |publisher=Icon Books |isbn=1-84046-687-1}}</ref>

As British subjects, his father having naturalised whilst studying engineering in London in 1897, Issigonis and his parents were evacuated to [[Crown Colony of Malta|Malta]] by the [[Royal Navy]] in September 1922 ahead of the [[Great Fire of Smyrna]] and the Turkish capture of Smyrna at the end of the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)|Greco-Turkish War]].<ref name="Wood"/><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=26869 |date=2 July 1897 |page=3638}}</ref><ref name="nam2021">{{cite report |title=1922 The Epic of Smyrna Refugees in Malta |work=Annual Report 2021 |pages=149–170 |year=2021 |url=https://www.levantineheritage.com/pdf/National-Archives-Annual-Report-Smyrna-2021.pdf |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250130120120/https://www.levantineheritage.com/pdf/National-Archives-Annual-Report-Smyrna-2021.pdf |archive-date=30 January 2025 |publisher=[[National Archives of Malta]] |issn=1997-6348}}</ref> His father died shortly after and Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom in 1923. Issigonis studied engineering at [[Battersea Polytechnic]] in London. Having failed his mathematics exams three times, subsequently declaring it 'the most uncreative subject you can study',<ref name="Wood"/> Issigonis decided to enter the [[University of London Worldwide|University of London External Programme]] to complete his university education.