Hakob Meghapart

Printer
Hakob Meghapart, or Hakob the Sinful as he called himself, was Armenian living in Venice who is credited with printing the first book in Armenian in 1512.

In 1512 Hakob established the first Armenian press in Venice, also the first Armenian press in the world. He chose Venice because the Catholic Church censorship of the material printed in foreign languages was more relaxed than in other centers and because Venice had an established Armenian community of merchants. Although his press lasted for only three years, there are still five of his books extant. These are Urbatagirk (Friday book), consisting mainly of prayers and remedies for the sick; Pataragatetr (The Missal); Akhtark (An astrological treatise); Parzatumar (The calendar); and Tagharan (Song book).