{"id":1780,"date":"2023-09-16T15:32:21","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T15:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/?page_id=1780"},"modified":"2026-01-12T17:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:12:15","slug":"aris-nyad-timeline","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/aris-nyad-timeline\/","title":{"rendered":"Aris Nyad Timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Aristotle<\/a>
Above:<\/strong> Aristotle Z. Nyad at the Beverly Hills Hotel just before Beverly Hills police arrest<\/a> him for \u201cIllegally wearing military uniform of an allied nation.\u201d (Complete article<\/a> | complete page.<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em> called him a “wealthy Greek land developer.”<\/a>\u00a0The Miami Herald<\/em> called him “Aris Nyad, of Greek shipping interests.”<\/a>\u00a0Some thought him a military hero, others a college professor, and others a wild, gun-wielding duke. When he eloped with Lucy Sneed, Diana Nyad’s mother, the Miami Daily News<\/em> dubbed him a “wealthy mystery man about town.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Except for the “mystery” part, Aris Z. Nyad was none of those things: he was a pathological liar and a con man. He scooped Lucy up into his gorgeous Greek arms and hied her to the altar, wedding himself to her and her bank accounts. For a brief time, Lucy’s money gave Aris everything he wanted: access to multiple homes, yachts, and opportunities to mingle with the rich and famous while pretending he was one of them.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/strong><\/p>\n

Early in her career, Diana Nyad spoke frankly about her step-father:<\/p>\n

An aristocratic bum. A goodlooking, big, muscular Greek type, big curly Afro hair, very statuesque-looking, and he looked so terrific, and talked so well, spoke seven foreign languages, and he taught at Oxford for two years, and was very\u2014knew everybody and everything. And, I even knew as a 10-year-old: I knew he was a liar (“What Makes Diana Nyad Swim”<\/a>).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She was more succinct\u00a0in the New York Times’<\/em> “Marathon Woman,”<\/a> declaring that her step-father was “remarkably handsome and pathologically devious.”<\/p>\n

Aris never taught at Oxford, and I have my doubts about those seven languages. But here’s what we can be sure of:<\/p>\n

Timeline<\/h1>\n

Aristotle Z. Nyad Comes to America<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

1940, 28 May \u2014 Arrives in U.S. as crewman aboard S.S. Nea Hellas, then deserts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Nea Hellas left Piraeus, Greece, on May 11, 1940<\/a>, and arrived in New York on the\u00a0 28th. The ship’s manifest lists<\/a> crew member Aridtoteles Naides as a Cadet\/Sailor. He was meant to work the return trip but had other plans; the “Statement of Master of Vessel Regarding Changes in Crew Prior to Departure”<\/a> lists “Aristot. Naidis” under “DESERTED SEAMEN.”<\/p>\n

Mrs. Nyad #1: Mary Kalamaridis<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

1940, Sep 26 \u2014 <\/strong>Obtains marriage license<\/strong>.\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

1940, Oct 5 \u2014 <\/strong>Marries Mary Kalamaridis in New Jersey:<\/strong>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1940, Oct 16 \u2014 Registers for draft.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1940, Oct 28 \u2014 Demonstrates at the Greek consulate<\/a> in New York<\/strong>.
\nOn the day Italy invaded Aris’s homeland, he joined “scores of young men [who] visited the consulate to express readiness to go to Greece to aid in the fight” (NY Herald Tribune<\/a><\/em>, 29 Oct 1940).<\/p>\n

He will eventually use the Herald Tribune <\/em>article to “prove” his patriotism. When Immigration officials arrested him in New York in December 1941,<\/p>\n

He had with him a clipping from the New York Tribune giving an interview as one of the many young Greeks who had stormed the consulate . . . hoping to get back [to Greece] so they could fight for their country. (The Gazette, 2 Jan 1942)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Aris, however, likely attended for another reason. “[A] drive for funds for the Greek Red Cross” presented a perfect opportunity for the fetching and fraudulent military hero to enrich himself.<\/p>\n

Aris Nyad’s War Effort<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

1941, Nov \u2014 Deported<\/strong> to Canada from New York.
\n<\/strong>See\u00a0“Wined, Dined Visitor Branded Imposter,”<\/a> a 1943 article that mentions this 1941 arrest.
\n1941, 29 Nov \u2014 Arrives in Canada to join the Royal Canadian Air Force.
\n<\/strong>(Note: Aris probably doesn’t know how to fly.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

See also the 6 Dec 1941 Lethbridge Herald<\/em><\/a>, <\/em> which reports that Aris is “the first Greek war flier to enlist” in the RCAF. A more detailed article about the episode \u2014 “Greek War Flier Joins Air Force”<\/a> \u2014 answers at least one question raised by the previous article: How did Aris manage to stay out of the cockpit given that he didn’t know how to fly? He made it a language problem.<\/p>\n

He is starting from the bottom in the Canadian service, hoping to become a full-fledged pilot. He speaks English fairly well although he has had little chance to really learn it, and admits the language will be a serious difficulty in enabling him to obtain his wings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article does NOT clarify who was lying to whom. Did U.S. authorities lie to Canadian authorities about Nyad? Or did Canadian authorities know about Nyad but lie to the press? Or . . . ?<\/p>\n

Also see 6 Dec 1941 Saskatoon Star Phoenix, “Greek Enlists in Canuck Air Force.” <\/a>And here’s another article that demonstrates Nyad’s flair for fraud:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Excerpt:<\/strong> “He worriedly asked the jailer if his uniform was properly on a hanger.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1942 \u2014 Arrested in New York for entering the U.S. Illegally.<\/strong>
\nSee “Member of RCAF.”<\/a><\/p>\n

From the Beverly House to the Big House<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

1943, Jan 12 \u2014 Arrested<\/strong> in Beverly Hills for immigration violations and gun possession.
\n<\/strong>Beverly Hills police take Nyad into custody at the Beverly House Hotel while he posed as a Greek military hero. From \u201cHollywood Trip Ends in Arrest<\/a>\u201d:<\/p>\n

He said he served seven or eight years in the Greek navy as a flyer, was wounded, and came to this country to spur Greek morale.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(NOTE:<\/strong> According to \u201cHollywood Trip . . .,<\/a>\u201d the police take Aris into custody at \u201c120 S. Laskey Drive.\u201d A researcher in the Beverly Hills library\u2019s history department told me that 120 S. Laskey did not exist in early 1943. She thought that the author or the police probably meant 140 S. Laskey, the address of what was at the time the Beverly House.)<\/p>\n

See also:<\/p>\n