This rubric this time will tell you about a linguist of Scottish descent who greatly contributed to the study of Georgian language – his name is Niko Marr.

Did you know that Niko Marr grew up in Guria? His mother, Aghati Maghularia, was a Gurian woman, and his father was a Scottish agronomist, Jacob Marr, who settled in the region. His name is associated with introduction of tea, citrus, cotton and silkworm in Georgian agriculture.

Descendants of Niko Marr say that the linguist knew almost 60 languages. A story has it that on his way from Kutaisi to St. Petersburg, Niko Marr learned two languages on his own, English and French.

Niko was very passionate about linguistics and he devoted his whole life to this field. He studied Armenian and Georgian languages ​​and their relationship with other languages. His name is associated with a number of hypotheses about origin of these languages. He developed a number of etymological materials about Kartvelian languages. At various times, Niko worked in the libraries of Vatican City and Rome on the study of the Georgian language, served as the vice-president of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the director of the St. Petersburg Library. His scientific work also focused on archaeology. His excavations were valuable for exploring the history of numerous cities or cultures.