REUTER, Julio Natanael. Turku 7.1.1863 — Helsinki 9.1.1934. Finnish Indologist. Professor in Helsinki. Son of the school director Edvin Titus Feodor R. (1824–1899) and Aline Procopé (1828–1916), brother of the biologists (entomologists) Odo Morannal R. (1850–1913) and Enzio Rafael R. (1867–1951). After matriculation in 1880 from Åbo Svenska Klassiska Lyceet (where his father was director) he studied classical languages, English, Swedish, Sanskrit and comparative Indo-European linguistics at University of Helsinki. M.A. 1886 Helsinki. In Sanskrit and Indo-European he was a student of Otto Donner. Further studies in 1886-87 at Jena (Delbrück), also visiting Paris, London and Oxford, and in 1888–89 at Berlin (Weber). Lic. Phil. 1891 and Ph.D. 1897 Helsinki. In 1893 and again in 1897-98 and 1899-1900 he was in London studying Sanskrit manuscripts. In 1891-1906 Docent of Sanskrit and Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at Helsinki. When Donner became senator in 1905, Reuter first became Acting Professor and soon (1906) Donner’s successor as eo. Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Indo-European Linguistics. His hopes to go to India in 1905 were not realized, but he was again in London in 1910 and 1915. He retired in 1931, but remained as examinator until his death. Hon. LL.D. 1901 Glasgow. He was unmarried.
Reuter was a many-sided scholar, although he never published much. In early stage of his career he was mainly interested in Sanskrit grammar, but later turned into Vedic ritual, Pāli and even Khotanese Saka and Tocharian. He was rather ill-fated in his work. The second part of his diss. was destroyed in fire and never written again, and his edition of the Drāhyāyaṇaśrautasūtra was also discontinued, although the vol. 2. was already type-set. Among his few students were Wälikangas, Valvanne, and Biese. Especially after the turn of century political activity took a great share of his time. He was an enthusiastic patriot who participated in the “Kagalen” (the underground resistance movement against the russification in 1899-1905), and later wrote an elaborate history of this movement. As his scholarly work often led him into travels, he was also very actively working to make the cause of Finland known abroad, especially in England. In 1918 he carried through a diplomatic mission to Copenhagen, Christiania (Oslo) and Washington, and in 1919 to London, in order to find support for the new independence of Finland. He was fond of theatre and wrote many critics on it.
Publications: Die altindischen Nominalkomposita ihrer betonung nach untersucht. Erste Abtheilung: Die Betonung der copulativen und der determinativen Composita mit einem Verbalnomen als Schlussglied. 203 p. Helsingfors 1891. It was also published in the Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung (so-called Kuhn’s Zeitschrift) 31, 1892, 157–232 & 485–612.
– Edited: The Srauta-Sūtra of Drāhyāyaṇa, with the Commentary of Dhanvin. 1. 214 p. London 1904 (1, 1, 1 – 11, 1, 4).
– “Some Buddhist Fragments from Chinese Turkestan in Sanskrit and ‘Khotanese’”, JSFOu 30:37, 1916, 37 p. and 9 pl. (Mannerheim fragments); “Die Anlautsvokale im Tocharischen”, Festskrift tillägn. K. H. Pipping. SLSF–Skrifter 175. Helsingfors 1924, 452-461; “Bemerkungen über die neuen Lautzeichen im Tocharischen”, StOr 1, 1925 (Fs. Tallqvist), 194-237; “‘Tocharisch’ und ‘Kutschanisch’”, JSFOu 47:4, 1934, 23 p.
– A number of smaller articles on India in Finnish and Swedish (“Intian kirjallisuus” [Indian literature], Tietosanakirja [The Encyclopaedia] 3, 1911, 1019-1039, and sep.; “Intia”, Maailmanhistoria [World History] 1, 1914, 33 p.; “Indiens religioner”, FT 100, 1926, 312-331 [review of three recent books of H. von Glasenapp).
– A few reviews in JRAS, IF, Neuphil. Mitt.
– Articles on theatre and on politics.
– “Kagalen” Ett bidrag till Finlands historia 1899-1905. 1-2. Helsingfors 1928-30.
Sources: P. Aalto, Oriental Studies in Finland 1828–1918. Helsinki 1971, 76ff.; T. Carpelan & L. O. Th. Tudeer, Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajat ja virkamiehet vuodesta 1828. Helsinki 1925, 789f. (with photo, also in the 1940 Supplement by Sola and Tudeer, 683); K. Karttunen, “From the early days of Finnish Indology IV. J.N.R.”, J. Janhunen & A. Parpola (ed.), Remota Relata. Essays on the History of Oriental Studies in Honour of Harry Halén. StOr 97, 2003, 109–116; G. J. Ramstedt, Soc. Scientiarum Fennica, Årsbok/Vuosikirja 17:C:3, 1-7 (in Swedish) with photo
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