Who created the constructed international language Esperanto?

L. L. Zamenhof created the constructed international language Esperanto.

Zamenhof, a Jewish ophthalmologist from the Russian Empire, published the first Esperanto textbook in 1887 under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto, meaning “Doctor Hopeful.” The language was designed to make international communication easier through a relatively regular grammar and vocabulary drawn largely from European languages.

Zamenhof grew up in Białystok, a multilingual city where tensions existed among different ethnic communities. He believed a neutral shared language could encourage communication and reduce hostility. Esperanto was not intended to replace native languages, but to serve as an additional international language.

The language developed a worldwide community of speakers, clubs, publications, and cultural works. Its grammar has features such as regular word formation and a largely phonetic spelling system. Esperanto has never become a dominant global language, but it remains the most widely known constructed international language and continues to be used in books, meetings, and online communities.