Which saint founded the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)?

Saint Dominic founded the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans.

Dominic de Guzmán was a Castilian priest who organized a new preaching movement in southern France during the early 13th century. His followers emphasized preaching, study, common life, and poverty, responding to religious controversy and the need for better-trained clergy. The movement became the Order of Preachers, or Dominican Order.

The order received papal approval from Pope Honorius III in December 1216. Dominic had already established communities for women at Prouille and organized the friars around Toulouse. He sent members to major university centers, helping make education and theological study central to Dominican identity.

Dominic died in Bologna in 1221 and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1234. The Dominicans later produced influential theologians, including Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas. A common mix-up is Saint Francis of Assisi, who founded the Franciscans, another major medieval mendicant order. Saint Benedict founded the Benedictines, whose monastic tradition predates the Dominicans by centuries.