Ya'qub Sanu

Educated in Livorno, Italy, Ya'qub Sanu returned to Cairo fluent in eight languages. In 1870, under the patronage of Khedive Ismail, he founded Egypt's first national theatrical troupe, staging thirty-two original comedic plays in Egyptian colloquial Arabic satirizing social snobbery and corruption.

When his plays mocked authoritarian governance, the Khedive closed his theater. Sanu responded by launching Abu Naddara Zarqa (The Man with Blue Glasses), the Arab world's first satirical illustrated cartoon newspaper. Exiled to Paris in 1878, he smuggled thousands of copies into Egypt, championing Egyptian sovereignty with razor-sharp caricatures.