Elias Lönnrot

1802 - 1884

country of citizenship: Sweden, Grand Duchy of Finland

languages spoken, written or signed: Finnish

educated at: University of Helsinki, Royal Academy of Turku, Imperial Alexander University, University of Turku

occupation: lexicographer, linguist, pedagogue, writer, poet, hymnwriter, physician writer, botanist, folklorist, physician, philologist, collector

award received: Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order, Order of Saint Anna, 3rd class, Order of Saint Stanislaus, 2nd class, Knight of the Order of the Polar Star

Elias Lönnrot (Finnish: [ˈeliɑs ˈlønruːt] ; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish physician, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for creating the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, (1835, enlarged 1849), from short ballads and lyric poems gathered from the Finnish oral tradition during several expeditions in Finland, Russian Karelia, the Kola Peninsula and Baltic countries. Source: Wikipedia (en)