Paulos Gnogno
Nominated by Netsanet Zerihun
Paulos Gnogno was an extraordinary Ethiopian journalist, historian and author who was passionate about informing and enlightening Ethiopians about a wide range of issues. In a country where sound education is the only way out for many, not only did he manage to have a thriving life for himself, but also changed the lives of countless Ethiopians for the better only as a 4th grade dropout. It is not known why he left school at a very young age. But what is known is that he was very curious about a lot of things with unique analytical skills and his intuition was spot-on. Before he died in 1993, he wrote 11 substantial books on Ethiopian history, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the different emperors of the country and about many more social and cultural issues. He was very curious about the outside-world, and he taught himself the English language so as to enable him to grasp the western world through reading books and journals written in English. As a result, he wrote translation books and journals in the official language of Ethiopia, thereby making many curious Ethiopians understand what the world outside of Ethiopia was like.
He was working on 6 more books to publish when he passed-away including a compilation of Ethiopian encyclopedia. Through the medium of books and newspapers, he made a lot of Ethiopians aware of diverse issues not only in Ethiopia but also in many different parts of the world. He was not held-up by the fact that he was a 4th grade dropout. Rather he followed his passion through reading, understanding, writing, analyzing and explaining situations and events without formal education. He taught himself and he taught others to the day he departed. His contribution to Ethiopia is enormous and many are grateful to him for what he did for Ethiopia.
