Mikael Agricola was a 16th-century Lutheran theologian and clergyman who served as the Bishop of Turku. Born in Pernå, he became a central figure in the Protestant Reformation within the Swedish realm, which included Finland at the time. He is widely recognized as the father of literary Finnish due to his pioneering linguistic work. By translating religious texts and creating early educational materials, he established the orthographic foundations for the modern Finnish language.