Elias Riggs was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Presbyterian missionary and linguist born in New Providence, New Jersey

New Providence, New Jersey

New Providence is a borough on the northwestern edge of Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is located on the Passaic River, which forms the county boundary with Morris County...

. During his missionary activities in the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 he contributed greatly to the Bulgarian National Revival

Bulgarian National Revival

The Bulgarian National Revival , sometimes called the Bulgarian Renaissance, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people under Ottoman rule...

, and organized the first translation (by Neofit Rilski

Neofit Rilski

Neofit Rilski or Neophyte of Rila , born Nikola Poppetrov Benin was a 19th-century Bulgarian monk, teacher and artist, and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival....

), and worked on editing, printing and dissemination of a translation of the Bible into modern Bulgarian

Bible translations into Bulgarian

Bible translations into modern Bulgarian date from the 1820s and were largely organised by Protestant missionaries. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church initially prefering the continued use of Old Church Slavonic....

. Riggs did research on Chaldee Language

Biblical Aramaic

Biblical Aramaic is the form of the Aramaic language that is used in the books of Daniel, Ezra and a few other places in the Hebrew Bible and should not be confused with the Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible known as targumim....

, and also guided the translation of the Bible into modern Armenian language.

The government and church of newly independent Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 originally opposed Riggs' mission, but later had to accept American and British Protestant activities among Christians other than Greeks

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

. Riggs took part in negotiations identifying the then actual ethnic delimitation

Boundary delimitation

Boundary delimitation, or simply delimitation, is the term used to describe the drawing of boundaries, but is most often used to describe the drawing of electoral boundaries, specifically those of precincts, states, counties or other municipalities...

 between Greeks

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 and Bulgarians

Bulgarians

The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...

 in the Ottoman Empire, resulting in an approximate line drawn between Serres

Serres

Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...

 and Edessa

Edessa, Greece

Edessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...

 in Macedonia

Macedonia (region)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...

 north of which the Christian population was recognized as predominantly Bulgarian. Subsequently, the 1876 Constantinople Conference

Constantinople Conference

The 1876–1877 Constantinople Conference of the Great Powers was held in Constantinople from 23 December 1876 until 20 January 1877...

 of the Great Powers confirmed that early delimitation in its more comprehensive definition of ethnic Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n lands as of the late 19th century.

Honour

Riggs Peak

Riggs Peak

Riggs Peak is a peak rising to 1690 m in Imeon Range on Smith Island, South Shetland Islands. Situated 2.38 km southwest of Neofit Peak, 5.4 km southwest of the summit Mount Foster, and 8.6 km northeast of Cape James. Overlooking Letnitsa Glacier to the south, and Gramada Glacier...

 on Smith Island

Smith Island (South Shetland Islands)

Smith Island is long and wide, lying west of Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands of the British Antarctic Territory. Surface area ....

, South Shetland Islands

South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...

is named after Elias Riggs.