February 10, 2022 marks the 249th birth anniversary of the outstanding educator, scientist and public figure, founder of Kharkiv University, Vasyl Karazin.

Born in the Kruchyk estate, Bohodukhiv district, Kharkiv province, Vasyl Karazin realized his inexhaustible energy in various fields. Among the achievements of the outstanding personality are the creation of the first Ministry of Education in Europe, the formation of a laboratory and the first meteorological station in Kharkiv province, the establishment of the Philotechnical Union to disseminate the achievements of science, technology and industry in Ukraine. It was thanks to his perseverance and tireless work that the University was opened in Kharkiv in 1805.

Vasyl Karazin is the author of a number of fundamental works in different fields of science, in particular in food industry, meteorology, organic and inorganic chemistry. His ideas on the use of electricity and production of artificial diamonds were of great practical importance. But the most important achievement of Vasyl Nazarovych was the opening of a university of Kharkiv.

Vasyl Karazin played a serious role in spreading progressive ideas in Ukraine. Contemporaries and descendants compared his work with that of Benjamin Franklin in America. In 1999, the name of V. N. Karazin was given to Kharkiv National University.