John Celivergos Zachos occupation educator
American Civil War
At the onset of the Civil War, Zachos was summoned by close friend Salmon P. Chase to go to Port Royal.  He was formally sent by the Boston and New York Education Commissions to prove the former slaves could be educated.  On March 13, 1862, Zachos was on Parris Island in command of 400 freed slaves on a plantation.  Zachos spent a total of 16 months at Parris Island.  Zachos took on many roles during this time, he was an Army Surgeon, Teacher, Store Keeper.  The military stronghold was supervised by Zachos under General Rufus Saxton.   He is noted for writing and reciting poetry to the freed slaves.Zachos left Parris Island towards the end of 1863 to conclude the experiment.  While he was at Port Royal he studied the difficulties former slaves encountered with learning how to read.  Namely, older slaves had a hard time due to years of torture and psychological abuse.
Zachos traveled back to Boston. He lived in the neighborhood where he grew up and where Samuel Gridley Howe still maintained a residence.  During the beginning of 1864, Zachos assembled a group of uneducated immigrants, both male and female.  The test subjects did not speak or read English.
Zachos, with the knowledge he acquired from the former slaves, put together a curriculum to instruct the test subjects.  Because he did not have a book he used charts and the chalkboard.  The students had to wait until March 1864 to receive the first book which had an extremely long title  The Phonic Primer and Reader, A National Method of teaching Reading by the Sounds of the Letters without altering the Orthography. Designed Chiefly for the Use of Night-Schools Where Adults are Taught, and for the Myriads of Freed Men and Women, Whose First Rush from the Prison-House of Slavery is to the Gates of the Temple of Knowledge.The test concluded that the new technique he created during his time at Port Royal was effective enough to teach adults. It was a simple teaching method.  The method employed a unique phonic education technique of teaching English reading by sounds of letters.  That same year an official book was published to educate the former adult slaves.  Phonic Primer and Reader.  Thus was coined the phrase: The Port Royal Experiment. After his work Salmon P. Chase gave Zachos an extraordinary recommendation.Career and later life
Another notable Greek American abolitionist was a resident of Boston around this period.  His name was Chaplain Photius Fisk.  Zachos continued living in Boston for another two years. He became a Unitarian Minister.  He gave twelve lectures at the Lowell Institute.  Both Samuel Gridley Howe and Zachos Departed Boston at around the same time. Samuel Gridley Howe traveled back to Greece to carry relief to the Cretan refugees and Zachos moved to Meadville Lombard Theological School.
In May 1866, he became the Professor of Sacred Rhetoric.  While at the Theological School he established another Literary Society.  American author, historian, and Unitarian minister Edward Everett Hale spoke very highly of John C. Zachos. By 1868 Zachos moved to Ithaca, New York to the Ithaca Chapter of the Theological Seminary.  He remained associated with the former institution until 1871.  While at Ithaca Zachos also lectured and taught classes at the newly founded Cornell University.In 1871, now 51 he moved to New York City where he would stay until the time of his death.  Peter Cooper and John C. Zachos became good friends. 
Zachos influenced the foundation of Cooper Union.  He taught literature and public speech.  In 1876 he was Peter Cooper's first biographer.  He was a Professor and Library Curator at Cooper Union.Zachos invented a medical device called an Improvement to Abdominal & Spinal Supporters.  A patent was filed on July 16, 1872. The No. was 129202.  The device was also patented in England.Due to his legendary reputation in the Civil War as an Army Surgeon. Zachos also became medical advisor to the Butler Health Lift.  He collaborated with the inventor of exercise equipment David Butler.  Together they wrote the instructional books on health and exercise and the benefit of using the equipment.On December 24, 1875 he filed patent number 175892 for typewriters and phenotypic notation application. The machine was a stenotype used for printing legible English text at a high speed.  He obtained 10,000 dollars in investment capital for his invention.  He continued his advancement of oratory the next two decades.
He was a proponent of the Delsarte System of Oratory founded by François Delsarte.  He also advocated the James Rush classic, The Philosophy of the Human Voice.  James Rush was the son of Benjamin Rush.
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