Petro Nino Luarasi

Petro Nino Luarasi was born on April 22, 1859, in Luaras, Kolonjë. After graduating from the Greek seminary in Qestorat, he defied Ottoman bans and Greek Orthodox excommunications to teach children to read and write in their native Albanian language.

In 1887, Luarasi opened the first Albanian school in Ersekë and took over directorship of the historic Mësonjëtorja (First Albanian School) in Korçë. Between 1904 and 1908, he traveled to the United States, founding patriotic societies and publishing Kombi in Boston. Returning to Albania, he opened schools across southern villages until he was assassinated with poison in Ersekë in 1911; his famous dying words were: 'Burn my bones, but scatter their ashes in the schools of Albania!'