Apostol Meksi was an Albanian doctor, folklorist and patriot. He was among the first intellectuals involved in the Albanian National Awakening that sought independence from the Ottoman Empire, and among the first who studied Albanian folklore. [1]
Apostol Meksi was born in 1825 in Labovë e Madhe. [1] His father Jorgji came from a family known in the area for its intellectual activities. Apostol Meksi studied at Zosimea, where he met Konstandin Kristoforidhi. [2] Together they shared a great interest in Albanian folklore, including traditional tales, songs and dances. [1] During their time in Ioannina, they taught Albanian to George von Hahn, and gave him valuable Albanian folk materials. [2]
The Albanian National Awakening, commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian people gathered strength to establish an independent cultural and political life as well as the country of Albania.
Aleksandër Gabriel Meksi is an Albanian politician who served as the 34th Prime Minister of Albania from April 13, 1992, to March 11, 1997. A former archaeologist, he was the first person to be prime minister of Albania after the end of communist rule. Meksi was a member of the Democratic Party of Albania and took office at the same time as President Sali Berisha, who also belonged to that party. Before entering politics, Meksi was a researcher and restorer of monuments of medieval architecture.
Prof.Dr.Jakup Halil Mato was an Albanian publicist and educational administrator. He started publishing his articles and research studies in the field of literature and arts since the beginning of the 1960s. In the 1990s he served as head of Centre of Art Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Albania.
Idhomen Jovan Kosturi, also known as Idhomeno Kosturi, was an Albanian politician, regent and once acting Prime Minister of Albania. He would become the second representative of Albanian Orthodox population to become head of the Albanian government, after Pandeli Evangjeli. Kosturi was also among the contributors to the first Albanian teachers' school, the Shkolla Normale e Elbasanit, a teacher training institution that was founded on 1 December 1909 in Elbasan.
Eqrem Çabej was an Albanian historical linguist and scholar who, through the publication of numerous studies gained a reputation as a key expert in research on Albanian language, literature, ethnology and linguistics.
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and the Albanian diaspora in the Americas, Europe and Oceania. With about 7.5 million speakers, it comprises an independent branch within the Indo-European languages and is not closely related to any other Indo-European language.
Kristo Meksi (1849–1931) was an Albanian politician of the early 20th century. He was one of the delegates of Albanian Declaration of Independence and also one of the first Albanian diplomats.
Vangjel Meksi (1770–1821) was an Albanian physician, writer, and translator. One-time personal physician to Ali Pasha, the 19th-century Albanian ruler of the Pashalik of Yanina, Meksi produced the first translation of the New Testament into Albanian with the help and sponsorship of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS). Meksi did not live to see his work's publication however, which was supervised by Gregory IV of Athens. As a member of Filiki Etaireia, a secret society whose purpose was to establish an independent Greek state, Meksi joined the Greeks in the Siege of Tripolitsa during their war of independence against the Ottoman Empire and died shortly afterwards.
Kostandin Nelko, known as Kostandin Kristoforidhi, was an Albanian translator and scholar. He is mostly known for having translated the New Testament into Albanian for the first time in the Gheg Albanian dialect in 1872. He also provided a translation in Tosk Albanian in 1879 thereby improving the 1823 tosk version of Vangjel Meksi. By providing translation in both dialects, he has the merit of founding the basis of the unification of both dialects into a national language.
Besim Bokshi was an Albanian poet, linguist and philologist. He served as the president of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo during 2008-2011.
Gabriele Dara commonly known as Gavril Dara Junior was an Arbëreshë politician and poet of the 19th century. He is regarded as one of the early writers of the Albanian National Awakening.
Gregory IV, was a Greek scholar and cleric who became Metropolitan of Athens in 1827–1828.
Mihal Grameno was an Albanian nationalist, politician, writer, freedom fighter, and journalist. He was one of the four initial appointed delegates from Korçë to the Albanian National Congress that proclaimed the Independence of Albania on 28 November 1912.
Naum Veqilharxhi, born Naum Panajot Bredhi (1797–1846), was an Albanian lawyer and scholar. In 1844, he created a unique alphabet for the Albanian language using characters he had created himself, the Vithkuqi script. Veqilharxhi is one of the most prominent figures of the early Albanian National Awakening, and is considered by Albanians as its first ideologue.
Dhimitër Shuteriqi was an Albanian scholar, literary historian, and writer.
Mahir Domi (1915–2000) was an Albanian linguist, professor, and academic. He was one of the organizers and main participants of the Albanian Orthography Congress, and member of the follow up commission responsible for deploying the orthographic rules of the Standard Albanian language.
The Albanian Orthography Congress was a linguistics event held in Tirana, People's Republic of Albania in 1972. It established for the first time the unified orthographic rules of the Albanian language which are still in use today.
Stath Melani was an Albanian Orthodox priest who participated in the Congress of Manastir and helped spread awareness of the Albanian written language in southern Albania. He was killed by a group of Greek nationalists near Përmet for insisting on the use of the Albanian language in the local Orthodox liturgy.
Aleksandër Merxhani mostly known as Branko Merxhani (1894–1981) was an Albanian intellectual, sociologist, writer, journalist and literary critic. He was one of the most important cultural figures of the pre-World War II in Albania, publisher of Përpjekja shqiptare. During the '30s he developed an ideological program named Neo-Albanianism, which he developed being heavily influenced by Turkish sociologist Ziya Gökalp.
The Abetare is a children's textbook written in the Albanian language. It was created to help teach the basic language to children and young adults throughout Albania and the surrounding region where Albanians live. Abetare has played a significant role in the history of Albanian education and laid the groundwork for literary Albanian which helped raise the national consciousness for future generations. By learning to read and write, young Albanians were introduced to the history and culture of their homeland.