JOHANSSON, Karl Ferdinand. Misterhult, Kalmar län 16.9.1860 — Uppsala 9.12.1926. Swedish Indologist. Professor in Uppsala. Son of Johan Erik Magnusson, a tenant farmer, and his wife Anna Lovisa Karlsdotter. Educated in Linköping, matriculated 1880. From 1880 studies of classics at Uppsala, under O. A. Danielsson and Per Persson, both also guided him to comparative linguistics. Fil.kand. 1882, fil.lic. 1885, Ph.D. 1886. From 1886 PD in IE Linguistics, in 1889-90 & 1892-93 acting Professor. From 1893 eo. Professor and from 1908 ord. Professor “i sanskrit och jämförande indoeuropeisk språkforskning”. Taught there until his death, and was succeeded by Charpentier. Married 1891 Ulrikke (Ulla) Colbjørnsen (1868–1936), three sons.

Johansson started his career as comparativist combining classical philology and junggrammarian methods. In 1888 he proposed the theory of IE “Schwebeablaut”. Under influence of —> Söderblom became interested in religion. Among his students were Charpentier and H. S. Nyberg.

Publications: Diss. 1886 and other works on Greek philology; articles on IE in BB, KZ, etc., e.g. “Morphologische Studien”, BB 14, 1889, 151-173; 15, 1889, 304-316; 16, 1890, 212-170; “Über den Wachel von parallelen Stämmen”, BB 18, 1892, 1-55.

– Der Dialekt der sogenannten Shāhbāzgarhī-Redaktion der vierzehn Edikte des Königs Aśoka. 104 p. Leiden 1893.

– “Sanskritische Etymologien”, IF 2, 1893, 1-64; “Eine analoge neubildung der verbalflexion im altindischen und balt.-slavischen”, KZ 32, 1893, 434-513; “Die bildung des dativus sing. der a-stämme im Arischen”, BB 20, 1894, 81-102; “Indische Miszellen”, IF 3, 1894, 198-253; “Indische Etymologien”, IF 8, 1898, 160-188; “Arische Beiträge”, IF 14, 1903, 265-339 & 19, 1906, 112-139.

– Bidrag till Rigvedas tolkning. 38 p. Skr. K. hum. Vetenskaps-Samfundet 5:7. Uppsala 1897; “Melusine- samt Amor och Psyche-motivet i Indien”,  Finsk Tidskrift 47, 1899:2, 3–39.

– Translated: Indiska sagor. 1. Jātaka. 273 p. Stockholm 1907.

– Translated in N. Söderblom (ed.): Främmande Religions-Urkunder. 2. Stockholm 1907: “Ur Veda”, 5-215, “Ur Siddhanta”, 217-262, “Ur Tipitaka”, 263-599 (incl. some Sanskrit works), “Ur Indiens eftervediska religionsböcker”, 601-619.

– “Pāli-Miscellen”, MO 2, 1907-08, 85-108; Zur mittelindischen Grammatik”, IF 22, 1907-08, 209-233; “Über die Flexion und Etymologie des Skr. kṣam-”, Xenia Lideniana. Stockholm 1912, 116-126; “Sanskr. daṁs-”, Festschrift A. Erdmann 1913, 179-193; “Drei etymologische Vermutungen”, Festschrift E. Kuhn 1916, 273-379; “Über die etymologie des sanskr. vē´di-”, MO 12, 1918, 244-256; “Die Sanskrit-Wurzel phaṇ- und phāṇṭa-”, ZII 3, 1925, 212-234; “Die mit ni- gebildeten hohen Zahlen im Altindischen”, Festgabe H. Jacobi 1926, 429-439; further articles.

– Solfågeln i Indien. 80 p. UUÅ. Uppsala 1910.

– Über die altindische Göttin Dhíṣaṇā. Beiträge zum Fruchtbarkeitskultus in Indien. 170 p. Skr. K. hum. Vetenskaps-Samfundet 20:1. Uppsala 1919.

– Etymologisches und Wortgeschichtliches. 87 p. Upps. Univ. Årsskrift 1927:1.

Sources: J. Charpentier, “Indol. studier i Sverige”, Sv. Orientsällsk. Årsbok 1924, 68-70 & *Idg. Jahrb. 12, 1928, 324-329; Stig Wikander, Svenskt biogr. Lex. 20, 1975, 262f.; Svenska männer och kvinnor briefly with photo; Uppsala Univ. Matrikel 1926, with bibliography; *Festskrift tillegnad Karl Ferdinand Johansson: på hans 50-årsdag den 16 september 1910. Gothenburg 1910; Swedish Wikipedia with photo.