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Harutyun Shmavonian

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Harutyun Shmavonian
Հարություն Շմավոնյան
Bust of Shmavonian, at the Armenian Church of the Holy Nazareth, Kolkata
Born1750
Died9 Feb. 1824
Notable creditFounder of Armenian journal Azdarar

Harutyun Shmavonian (Armenian: Հարություն Շմավոնյան) (born Shiraz, Persia in 1750 - died Madras, India 1824) was a priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the founder of the Armenian journalism through publishing of the Armenian newspaper Azdarar (Monitor).[1] The paper's first publication day was October 16th, now marked in Armenia as Armenian Press Day.[1][2] He was also the publication's editor.

Biography

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Shmavonian born in 1750 in the Persian city Shiraz.[3] He moved in 1784 to Madras (now Chennai), India where he served as an Armenian priest. In 1789, he founded a second Armenian publishing house.

In the October 1794 he founded the Armenian journal Azdarar (Armenian: Ազդարար). It was the first Armenian periodical publication ever published and Shmavonian is considered a pioneer because of his initiative and father of Armenian journalism. Financing of the new publication had been secured, but the number of readers was not very large. Shmavonian went on to publish 18 issues of "Azdarar" before it stopped in 1796.[4]

Harutyun Shmavonian died in 1824.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "October 16 is Armenian Press Day". www.panorama.am. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  2. ^ Yegavian, Tigran (2023-03-21). "What Is the Future for Armenian Media?". EVN Report. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  3. ^ "200 years ago, a priest from Armenia made headlines in Madras – The Times of India". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  4. ^ "The Museum of Printing in Yerevan". Type & Press. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
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