Nikolai Anderson
Nikolai Adolf Karl Anderson (* September 24 1845 in Kulina Governorate of Estonia, † March 9, 1905 in Narva ) was a philologist deutschbaltischer. His specialty was the comparative linguistics of the Finno -Ugric languages.
Life
Anderson was born in the village Kulina at Wesenberg. He received his education in Tallinn, at the conclusion of 1865, he enrolled at the University of Dorpat to study philology. He was a student of Leo Meyers, who was appointed there in the same year as a professor of German and comparative linguistics. During his studies, Anderson was also interested in Finno -Ugric languages , for which he was an expert soon.
From 1871 Anderson worked as a teacher at the Gymnasium hours of Dorpat. In 1872 he accepted a position as a senior teacher of Classical Languages at the high school from Minsk ( Belarus ), where he continued the studies of the Finno -Ugric languages in his spare time. Two years later (1874 ) married Anderson. His three sons resulting from this marriage William Anderson (1880-1940), Walter Anderson (1885-1962) and Oskar Anderson (1887-1960), all came to an academic career.
The results of his research, which compared Finno -Ugric and Indo-European languages , handed Nikolai Anderson in 1876 at the University of Dorpat one of which he subsequently the candidate degree was awarded in comparative philology. Although still working as a teacher in Minsk, Anderson continued his research and obtained in 1891 a Master's degree in comparative linguistics. Anderson's mentor Leo Meyer nominated him in 1892 for the honor of membership in the scholars Estonian society, St. Nicholas Anderson was granted in the same year.
In January of 1894 Anderson was awarded by the University of Kazan (Russia) the offer of a professorship of Finno -Ugric languages , which he followed, since this allowed him to embark on an academic career, which gave him more time for his research.
1898 Anderson fell ill to a nervous ailment and spent several months in hospital in Dorpat. In 1904, he suffered a relapse and was again hospitalized. As his condition improved the beginning of 1905, he traveled for recreation to his sister to Narva, where he contracted pleurisy and died shortly afterwards.
Works (selection)
Anderson's research was not limited to comparing the various Finno -Ugric languages. He was also one of the first representatives of the theory of a genetic relationship between the Finno -Ugric and Indo-European language families.
- Nicholas Anderson: sample of a comparative grammar of the Indo-European languages and ugrofinnischen. Dorpat, 1876
- Nicholas Anderson: Studies on the comparison of the ugrofinnischen and Indo-European languages . H. Laakmann, Dorpat, 1879/1891
- Nicholas Anderson: Transformations of the initial sound dental spirant in Ostyak. In: Mémoires de l' Académie des Sciences de St. - impériale Pétersbourg. Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 1893