About
Louis-Lazare Zamenhof, born Eliezer Lewi Samenhof, grew up in a family of language teachers in Białystok, a multilingual city in the Russian Empire. Trained as an ophthalmologist, he devoted his life to creating a neutral international language, published in 1887 under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto. He established its foundations in the Fundamento de Esperanto (1905) and promoted a humanist philosophy, Homaranismo. A prolific translator, he received several honors and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
* 1859-12-15 — † 1917-04-14
Major works
- Unua Libro (1887)language manual
- Fundamento de Esperanto (1905)reference work
- Hamlettranslation
- Fairy Talestranslation
Key milestones
- 1887Publication of the Unua Libro, presenting the international language under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto.
- 1905Publication of the Fundamento de Esperanto, declared the permanent foundation of the language at the first World Esperanto Congress.
- 1917Died in Warsaw, buried at the Jewish cemetery on Okopowa Street.
Themes
International languagePeace and understanding among peoplHumanismTranslationJewish identity
Sources: britannica.com · encyclopedia.yivo.org · jhi.pl