In 1919 , Gregorian and his family fled the Armenian Genocide by oxcart on a thousand-mile journey with hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees from his ancient Armenian homeland near Lake Urmia , over the Zagros Mountains in southwestern Iran , down to Basra , Iraq . There , they stayed at a British refugee camp . Gregorian almost died of cholera and worked as a sidekick to a hakim or herbal doctor to earn food for his family . After traveling by steerage to India , Italy and France , he finally reached Boston and settled in New Britain , Connecticut . In high school , Arthur met Phebe Ballou , his future wife . He spent his final year of high school at the Northfield Mount Hermon School , where in later life he became the director of the board of alumni . After high school he worked in a rug shop to get money to go to night school at Boston University , so he could become a doctor
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Arthur T. Gregorian