Francysk Skaryna

Francysk Skaryna (pronounced ; or Skoryna; Belarusian: Францыск (Францішак) Скарына) was a Belarusian famous as one of the first publishers in Eastern Europe, laying groundwork for the development of the Belarusian language.

He was born in the historical Belarusian city of Polatsk into the family of a wealthy merchant. The exact dates of birth and death are unknown; the two most probable estimates are 1485–1540 and 1490–1551.

Skaryna graduated from the arts faculty at the University of Kraków in 1504 with a Bachelor of Arts. In 1512 he received doctorate in medicine at the University of Padua in Italy. In 1517 he established a printing press in Prague, where he published his first book entitled The Psalter, in the Old Belarusian language on 6 August 1517. The culmination of his life's work was printing a translation of the Bible in 22 books during 1517 to 1519.

Around 1522 he moved to Vilnius and established the first printing house in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The first book published there was The Little Travel Guide. However, soon the printing house closed down and Skaryna spent his last years working as a doctor for Ferdinand I of Germany.