Nicholas Leonicus Thomaeus
Thomaeus was born to a Greek family in Venice, Italy on February 1, 1456. He studied Greek philosophy and literature under the guidance of Demetrios Chalkokondyles in Florence, Italy. In 1497, the University of Padua chose Thomaeus as its first official lecturer on the Greek text of Aristotle. In 1504, he was elected to succeed Giorgio Valla as headmaster of Greek in Venice but Thomaeus did not take the position seriously. He was succeeded as headmaster by Marcus Musurus in 1512. Beginning in 1524, Thomaeus published series of philosophical discussions in the Latin language. He was admired by scholars such as Desiderius Erasmus for his philology. When the University of Padua was reopened after the wars of the League of Cambrai, Thomaeus taught at the school until he died on March 28, 1531.