Kuzman Shapkarev was born in Ohrid in 1834. He was a teacher in a number of Bulgarian schools in Ohrid, Bitola, Prilep, Kukush, Thessaloniki,. In these towns he was especially active in introducing the Bulgarian language in local schools. Не initiated the establishment of two Bulgarian high schools in Solun in 1882–1883. He wrote the following textbooks: "A Bulgarian Primer", "A Big Bulgarian Reader", "Mother tongue", "Short Land description ", "Short Religion Book" and others. Shapkarev criticized the dominance of eastern Bulgarian and even declared that it was incomprehensible in Macedonia. In his from 1868, which he authored under the pseudonym "One Macedonian", he stated his intention to write in a language understandable to his compatriots, the Macedonian Bulgarians. He also announced a project of a dictionary that would contain translation from Macedonian into Upper Bulgarian and vice versa This activity was condemned by the Bulgarian press, which even accused Kuzman Shapkarev of advocating the existence of a separate Macedonian language and of a distinct history of the Macedonian people. Shapkarev was a contributor of many Bulgarian newspapers and magazines – "Tsarigradski vestnik", "Gayda", "Macedonia", "Pravo", "Savetnik", "Balgarska pchela" and others. Shapkarev was a collaborator of the revolutionary Georgi Rakovski and in the field of ethnography, he assisted the Miladinov Brothers. After 1883 he lived in Eastern Rumelia and Bulgaria – in Plovdiv, Sliven, Stara Zagora, Vraca and Orhanie. Along with his scientific and public occupation in Bulgaria he worked as a notary and a judge. From onwards 1900 he was a regular member of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. His autobiographical book is called "Materials for the Revival of Bulgarian national spirit in Macedonia". The first son of Kuzman Shapkarev – Kliment was one of the leading activists of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, while the second – Ivan was high-ranking Bulgarian Army officer.
Works
Scientific works
Rusalii. The old and too interesting Bulgarian custom preserved in Southern Macedonia, Plovdiv, 1884
"The Serbian Greatideas' endeavours and our scientifists", 1888
"Several notes about Macedono-Slav collection of P. Draganov" 1895
:File:Kuzman_Shapkarev_-_Materiali_za_zhivotoopisanieto_na_bratya_Miladinovi_.pdf|Materials for the Biography of the Miladinov Brothers - Dimitar and Konstantin, Plovdiv 1884
