Šafařík, Pavel

Šafařík, Pavel (Slovak: Šafárik), b 13 May 1795 in Kobeliarovo, Slovakia, d 26 June 1861 in Prague. Pioneering Slavist and leading figure in the Czech and Slovak national revivals. After graduating from Jena University (1817) he taught secondary school in Novi Sad (1819–33) and then became curator (1841) and director (1848) of the Prague University library. He was a founder of several branches of Slavic studies and the author of fundamental works in Slavic history and language, including Geschichte der slavischen Sprache und Literatur nach allen Mundarten (1826) and Slovanské starožitnosti (Slavic Antiquities, 2 vols, 1836–7). He regarded Ukrainians as a distinct people with their own language and literature. His ideas had a strong impact on the Ukrainian national awakening. He maintained close ties with the Ruthenian Triad and with other Ukrainian Slavists, such as Izmail Sreznevsky, Osyp Bodiansky, and Mykhailo Maksymovych.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]