Mihkel Veske

Born Jan. 28, 1843, in Viljandi district; died May 16, 1890, in Kazan. Estonian ethnographer, linguist, specialist in the Finno-Ugric languages. Public figure, an active member of the nationalist movement. Professor at the universities of Iur’ev (Tartu, from 1874) and Kazan (from 1886). One of the founders of the neogrammarian school in Finno-Ugric studies. Among his works are Studies on the Comparative Grammar of the Finnish Language Group (1873), Studies on the Dialects of the Cheremis Language (part 1, 1889), and Slavic-Finnish Cultural Relations According to Language (1890). Veske published the anthology Estonian Folk Songs (vols. 1-2, 1879-83).