Ioannis was born on the island of Crete around 1820. The
Greek War of Independence broke out the same period. His father Giorgios was an active participant in the revolution. Giorgios nickname was Ksepapas. He was a commander in
Greek War of Independence around 1821. He was also responsible for the Greek rebel's economic affairs. He represented the island of Crete as a proxy in the Second National Assembly held in
Astros Kynourias between 29 March and 18 April 1823. Giorgios was killed in Gramvousa several years later during the
Greek Revolution. From a young age, Ioannis showed an interest in the sciences. Ioanni's mentor was Greek physics professor
Konstantinos Negris. He advised him to study in Munich.{{cite web Ioannis traveled to Germany and studied at the
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München from 1833 to 1837. He studied mathematics and astronomy. He briefly returned to Athens and finished a master's degree at the
University of Athens. He studied mathematics and physics. He excelled in his studies and the Greek government paid for him to complete his studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. In 1842, he traveled to Paris and attended the elite prestigious institutions
Ecole Polytechnique (1842) and the
Ecole des Mines (1844).
Joseph Bertrand and
Auguste Bravais were professors at the
Ecole Polytechnique at the time.
Francois Arago was also affiliated with the school and Greek physicist
Dimitrios Stroumpos studied at the university a decade earlier. When Ioannis returned to Greece he was assistant to
Georgios Konstantinos Vouris at the
National Observatory of Athens. Ioannis began teaching at the University of Athens in 1850. He taught astronomy and analysis. The Greek government was constantly unstable. The people disliked the new monarch
King Otto. The
Greek revolt of 1843 was an important event because all foreign professors were expelled from the University of Athens around the same period. The world-renowned astronomer
Georgios Konstantinos Vouris was Greek-Austrian. He was from the same country as the King of Greece
King Otto. The University of Athens was constantly drawn into political debate. Regrettably,
Georgios Konstantinos Vouris was the victim of politics. He resigned his position as director of the
National Observatory of Athens and moved back to Austria. Papadakis assumed the position as director for three years from 1855 to 1858. The faculty of the
University of Athens,
Georgios Sinas and his son
Simon Sinas pleaded with
Vouris to return to the observatory but
Vouris declined.
Simon Sinas and
Vouris were allowed to choose his predecessor. They chose German astronomer
Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt. Papadakis did not want to stay in the position because it was demanding, and he was a full-time faculty member at two universities at the time he worked at the
University of Athens and the
Athens Polytechnic University. During the 1850s, Papadakis was an assistant to
Vouris. He did extensive meteorological research and published some of his works. He also helped
Vouris conduct his research. During the same period, he introduced complex descriptive geometry to his students at the university. Records indicate he taught descriptive geometry at the
Athens Polytechnic University from 1853 and 1856. He taught the new mathematical methods introduced in France. He influenced
Nikolaos Ch. Nikolaidis,
Cyparissos Stephanos,
Vassilios Lakon and
John Hazzidakis. Papadakis resigned in protest in 1856 when Joseph Mindler (1808–1868) a Bavarian officer of the royal court and stenographer of the Parliament was hired to teach stenography. Mindler was paid a significantly higher salary than Papadakis. The government in response offered to pay Papadakis higher wages. On 10 May 1859, a political incident rocked the university community when the students were involved in a massive protest called the skiadika (σκιαδικά). Several years later in October 1862,
King Otto was exiled to never return to Greece. Papadakis and the college community continued to flourish. Papadakis became dean of the Philosophical School twice, and he also became president of the University of Athens right before his death in the academic year 1876–1877. He wrote for several publications in Greece. He wrote about his observations of the moons of Jupiter and published it in the Greek paper Logodos (Λογοδος). He also published meteorological observations in local Greek newspapers and was a member of the Greek archeological society. ==Literary works==