Grigor Ghapantsyan (''Kapantsian'', , 1887–1957) was an Armenian historian, orientalist, linguist and philologist, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Honored Scientist of the Armenian SSR.

Biography

Ghapantsyan was born on February 17, 1887, in

Ashtarak Ashtarak ( ) is a town in the Ashtarak Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, 20 kms northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of the province and an i ...

. He received primary education in Ashtarak, then studied in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. 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 (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

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

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( ) is the 5th-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 commonly known as Ejmiatsin ...

. In May 1918 he took an active part in the Battle of Sardarapat. In 1921 he was invited to

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; , , ), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919, it is the largest university in the country. It is thus informally known as Armenia's ...

, 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 Writers from Ashtarak Linguists from Armenia Academic staff of Yerevan State University Soviet Armenians Armenian people from the Russian Empire 20th-century linguists