[2] Born on 30 September 1929 in the village of Smokovo in Karditsa regional unit, Vassilis Papazachos studied physics in the University of Athens, Greece.
He first became involved in geophysics as an assistant of professor Angelos Galanopoulos (1955–1956) and then moved to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens (1956–1977).
Papazachos always attracted publicity in his country Greece, which is highly seismogenic and has been tormented by many earthquakes both in historic and prehistoric times.
He was an ardent opposer of Panayotis Varotsos and the VAN method for earthquake prediction, which he called "the greatest science joke of the century".
[citation needed] A supporter of the left, he was asked by the Communist Party of Greece to lead their ticket and run for mayor of Thessaloniki,[when?]