Alexander Khristoforovich Vostokov (1781-1864) was one of the first Russian philologists and the greatest 19th-century authority on the Old Church Slavonic language. 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Philology is the study of ancient texts and languages. ... Old Church Slavonic (also called Old Church Slavic or Old Bulgarian, incorrectly Old Slavic ) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavic dialect of Solun (Thessaloniki) by 9th century Byzantine missionaries, Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius. ...

He was born in Arensburg (present-day Estonia) and studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts. As a natural son of Baron von Osten-Sacken, he received the name Osteneck, which he later chose to render into Russian as Vostokov. During his lifetime, he was known as a poet and translator, but it is his innovative studies of versification which proved most influential. In 1815, he joined the staff of the Imperial Public Library, where he discovered the most ancient book written in Slavonic vernacular, the so-called Ostromir Gospel. In 1841, Vostokov was elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as St Petersburg Academy of Arts, was opened by Count Ivan Shuvalov under the name of Academy of Three Noblest Arts in 1757. ... 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Russian Academy of Sciences: main building Russian Academy of Sciences (Росси́йская Акаде́мия Нау́к) is the national academy of Russia. ...