Mikael Agricola (M / Finland, 1510c-1557), scholar

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Mikael Agricola

Mikael Agricola (Mikael Olavinpoika; 1510c-1557) was a Finnish scholar, a Reformer and the author of the first Finnish translation of the New Testament in 1548. Mikael Olavinpoika was born in Uusimaa (Nyland) in the village of Torsby in Pernå, Finland, around the year 1510. Fluent in both Finnish and Swedish, he distinguished himself for his intellectual skills, assuming the name of Agricola ("farmer") after his humble origins and his father's occupation. Under the influence of Martin Luther's first Finnish student Petrus Särkilahti, Agricola joined the Reformation and was ordained in the priesthood in 1531. In 1536 he was sent to Germany, where he studied under Philipp Melanchthon and Martin Luther. Back to Finland, Mikael Agricola became the father of the Finnish Reformation and of the Finnish written language. In 1548 he published the first Finnish translation of the New Testament, and in 1554 was appointed bishop of Turku (Åbo). Agricola died in Kyrönniemi on April 9, 1557.

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