Grigor Ghapantsyan (''Kapantsian'', hy, Գրիգոր Ղափանցյան, 1887 - 1957) was an Armenian historian, orientalist, linguist and philologist, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Academician of the

Academy of Sciences of Armenia The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գիտությունների ազգային ակադեմիա, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri az ...

, Honored Scientist of the Armenian SSR.

Biography

Ghapantsyan was born on February 17, 1887 in

Ashtarak Ashtarak (Armenian language, Armenian: ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of ...

. He received primary education in Ashtarak, then studied in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In 1913 he graduated from the Department of Armenian-Georgian Philology of the Faculty of Oriental Languages of

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter t ...

, returned to Armenia and up to 1918 conducted various courses in the field of the Armenian Studies at the Gevorgian Seminary in

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

. In May 1918 he took an active part in the

Battle of Sardarapat The Battle of Sardarabad ( hy, Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ, translit=Sardarapati chakatamart; tr, Serdarabad Muharebesi) was a battle of the Caucasus campaign of World War I that took place near Sardarabad, Armenia, from 21 to ...

. In 1921 he was invited to

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...

, where he headed the Department of General Linguistics for many years, teaching Old Armenian, historical-comparative grammar of Armenian, Urartian, general linguistics. He made significant contribution to the Urartology in Armenia, as well as to the investigation of the international cuneiform civilizations. John A. C. Greppin has described Ghapantsyan's work on the history of the relation of Urartu and ancient Armenia as "groundbreaking". In 1943 he was elected a founding member of the newly established Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR and was elected Academic Secretary of the Department of Social Sciences. In 1950 - 1956 he was the Director of the Language Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR. He died on May 3, 1957, in Yerevan. His bronze bust is placed in the lobby of YSU Main Building. A commemorative plaque is attached to the wall of the building No. 32 on Abovyan Street in Yerevan. In 1949, during the deportations of Armenians by the Stalin's government, Ghapantsyan was among those repressed. Ghapantsyan and his wife Hripsime Ghapantsyan (Stepanyan, 1895-1983) had three children. Grigor Ghapantsyan Museum was opened in 1987.Grigor Ghapantsyan Museum
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References

{{Authority control 1887 births 1957 deaths People from Ashtarak Linguists from Armenia Academics of Yerevan State University Soviet Armenians Armenian people from the Russian Empire 20th-century linguists