150th anniversary of the birth of Jozef Škultéty

200 Sk commemorative silver coin

Jozef Škultéty (25 November 1853 – 19 January 1948) – literary critic and historian, writer, linguist, editor, translator and publicist, lifelong administrator of the Matica Slovenská cultural association and professor – one of the leading personalities of the Slovak national movement, an enthusiastic campaigner for Slovak national life and culture. He began with the publication of short stories; though, the more important are his literary critical and literary historical works. In the magazines ‘Slovenské pohľady’ and ‘Narodné noviny’ he presented and critically judged works of contemporary and older Slovak writers as well as Slav and other world literature. He devoted himself also to historic works. He was engaged in linguistics, and concentrated on Slovak grammar and linguistic norm. He undertook a study trip to Russia, established ties of friendship with outstanding Russian, Serbian, Polish and Swedish personalities, who paid him return visits. In his work, he had a direct influence on developments in political, cultural, literary and scientific life in Slovakia.