Hasan Tahsini

Hasan Tahsini was born on 7 April 1811 in Ninat, Konispol, in the Ottoman Empire, in a patriotic and intellectual family. His father was Simon Podrimja, a participant in the Literary Congress of Monastir and the Congress of Elbasan, as well as one of the founders of the Normal School of Elbasan. Tahsini attended the Greek school in his hometown and later the American Collegiate and Theological Institute in Samokov, Bulgaria, where he learned several languages. He worked for the American Bible Society in Salonica, and then for the British and Foreign Bible Society. He took over the direction of the first Albanian girls' school in Korçë upon the death of his brother Gjerasim in 1894. In 1908, he was the president of the Albanian Bashkimi club in Manastir and later became vice-president. He was also a delegate at the Congress of Monastir, where he contributed to the standardization of the Albanian alphabet. Tahsini also worked as an interpreter at the Austro-Hungarian consulate in Bitola. He was one of the founders of the Albanian printing press Bashkimi i Kombit, where he published several books and articles on physics, astronomy, psychology, history, theology, diplomacy, journalism, music, national unity and ecumenism. He also translated John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress into Albanian. He died on 3 July 1881 in Istanbul, under unknown circumstances. His death was considered a loss for the Albanian culture and education. [1](^1^) [2](^2^) [3](^3^)