On October 20, 1839, an outstanding educator, one of the largest Russian publishers and editors Florenty Fedorovich Pavlenkov was born.

Pavlenkov published the first encyclopedic dictionary in Russia, the first dictionary of foreign languages, and for the first time in our country began publishing a series of biographies called The Lives of Remarkable People (200 biographies in total).

In total, Florenty Pavlenkov published 750 books with a circulation of more than 3.5 million copies. Among them are Russian classics, translated scientific literature, biographical collections, and much more. Thanks to the educator, Russians were able to get acquainted with the best examples of Western European fiction. He also published works by classic compatriots – A. S. Pushkin, M. Y. Lermontov, N. V. Gogol, and other writers. A special area in the activity of Pavlenkov was occupied by the publication of popular science books, from physics to sociology.

At the expense of Pavlenkov after his death in 1900, according to the will of the educator, two thousand reading rooms were opened in Russian villages. Subsequently, the famous Community of Pavlenkov Libraries was created under the auspices of UNESCO.

Based on open sources.

Photo on the page and the homepage: https://polit.ru