John Amos Comenius

Czech educator and philosopher — the 'father of modern education' — who developed the first picture book for children (Orbis Pictus), the systematic teaching of Latin, and the concept of universal education for all children regardless of gender or class.

Creates the systematic pedagogy of modern education — Comenius's Great Didactic argued that all knowledge could be taught to all children if organized correctly, and that schooling should follow a natural order from easy to difficult; his methods (textbooks, graded curricula, illustrations) are the foundation of modern educational practice.