The survival of Judaism.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, disciple of Hillel, found favor in the eyes of the Roman leader Vespasian, for a reason explained in the Talmud (Gittin 56a-b), and was granted a request. He requested that the Romans (who had already begun the process of the Second Destruction) spare the town of Yavneh and its Torah-scholars. Vespasion acquiesced (Talmud, ibid), and Rabbi Yohanan gathered whatever Torah-sages he could, to Yavneh.
After the Destruction during which the Romans razed Jerusalem, it was these sages (Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva and many others) who redeemed Jewish captives, distributed charity, and rebuilt whatever they could.
In matters of Torah, they recorded the laws of the Temple so that these wouldn't be forgotten, and redacted the details of such Mishna-tractates as Shekalim, Yoma, and Tamid. They finalized the text of the Haggadah shel Pesach (Passover Seder), composed prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple, and set in motion the process of redacting the entire Mishna, an effort which would be completed a century later.
Through all these actions, they gave the Jewish people new hope, showing them that the nation could continue even under the new circumstances, with its Torah and traditions (Oral Law) intact, clarified and accessible.
At that time (the Second Destruction), non-traditional sects such as the Sadducees and the Essenes, either went extinct or drifted completely way from Judaism because of the hardships the Jews were experiencing. Judaism today can name only the Torah-sages as their spiritual forebears.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, disciple of Hillel, found favor in the eyes of the Roman leader Vespasian, for a reason explained in the Talmud (Gittin 56a-b), and was granted a request. He requested that the Romans (who had already begun the process of the Second Destruction) spare the town of Yavneh and its Torah-scholars. Vespasion acquiesced (Talmud, ibid), and Rabbi Yohanan gathered whatever Torah-sages he could, to Yavneh.
After the Destruction during which the Romans razed Jerusalem, it was these sages (Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva and many others) who redeemed Jewish captives, distributed charity, and rebuilt whatever they could.
In matters of Torah, they recorded the laws of the Temple so that these wouldn't be forgotten, and redacted the details of such Mishna-tractates as Shekalim, Yoma, and Tamid. They finalized the text of the Haggadah shel Pesach (Passover Seder), composed prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple, and set in motion the process of redacting the entire Mishna, an effort which would be completed a century later.
Through all these actions, they gave the Jewish people new hope, showing them that the nation could continue even under the new circumstances, with its Torah and traditions (Oral Law) intact, clarified and accessible.
At that time (the Second Destruction), non-traditional sects such as the Sadducees and the Essenes, either went extinct or drifted completely way from Judaism because of the hardships the Jews were experiencing. Judaism today can name only the Torah-sages as their spiritual forebears.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, Chanina ben Dosa, Bava ben Buta, Shimon ben Hillel, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Yossi haKohen, Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel, Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh, Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Nechuniah, Rabbi Nachum Gamzu, Rabbi Yossi Glili, Rabbi Honi Me'agel, Rabbi Abba Shaul, and hundreds of others. Each of these had large groups of disciples.
Rabbis. Here are a few examples from the Talmud. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, Chanina ben Dosa, Bava ben Buta, Shimon ben Hillel, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Yossi haKohen, Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel, Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh, Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Nechuniah, Rabbi Nachum Gamzu, Rabbi Yossi Glili, Rabbi Honi Me'agel, Rabbi Abba Shaul, and hundreds of others. Each of these had large groups of disciples.
Just a very few examples: Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, Chanina ben Dosa, Bava ben Buta, Shimon ben Hillel, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Yossi haKohen, Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel, Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh, Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Nechuniah, Rabbi Nachum Gamzu, Rabbi Yossi Glili, Rabbi Honi Me'agel, Rabbi Abba Shaul, and hundreds of others. Each of these had large groups of disciples, most of whom were Torah-teachers too.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, Chanina ben Dosa, Bava ben Buta, Shimon ben Hillel, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Gam'liel, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Nechuniah, Rabbi Nachum Gamzu, Rabbi Yossi Glili, Rabbi Honi Me'agel, Rabbi Abba Shaul, and hundreds of others. Each of these had large groups of disciples.See also:More about the PhariseesJewish history timeline
Rabban (Rabbi) Yochanan ben Zakkai (1st century CE) lived his entire life in the Holy Land, in Jerusalem, and later in a town called B'ror Chail (in his last years). His chief disciples were Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, the teachers of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Eliezer settled in Lod, while Rabbi Yehoshua lived in Pekiin. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was also famous for creating the Yeshivah at Yavneh (Talmud, Gittin 56b).
Hillel, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and Rabbi Akiva all lived to 120.
The answer you're looking for is Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, but it (and the question) is inaccurate. The Torah-academy at Yavneh was already in existence; and what Rabbi ben Zakkai did was to greatly swell its ranks with additional sages.
One person concerning whom that expression is used is Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, in Talmud Berakhot 28b.
Rabban (Rabbi) Yochanan Ben Zakkai (1st century CE) was one of the foremost students of Hillel. He was the teacher of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, two of the greatest sages of the Mishna (transmitters of the Oral Torah traditions). Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai is mentioned, among other places, in the second chapter of Pirkei Avos. As related in the Talmud (Gittin, folio page 56), it was thanks to his interceding that the Roman leader Vespasian allowed some of the Torah-sages to survive the Second Destruction when the Romans destroyed the Temple.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Rabbis have founded Yeshivas. But the answer which you wanted is: Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. He founded the Academy at Yavneh in the wake of the Second Temple's destruction.
Yochanan ben zakkai was the youngest and most distinguished disciple of rabbi hellil. He has been called the Father of wisdom and the father of generations (of scholars) because he ensured the continuation of Jewish scholarship after Jerusalem fell to Rome in 70 ce
Rabbi ben Ezra was created in 1864.