HJELT, Frans Wilhelm Gustaf. Turku 22.5.1819 — Turku 26.9.1889. Finnish Priest and Classical Scholar. Son of the printing manager and publisher Christian Ludvig H. (1786-1849) and Hedvig Lovisa Chytraeus. He matriculated from Turku Gymnasium in 1836, and studied at Helsinki University (M.A. 1840). Teacher at his old school, in 1842-43 studied Sanskrit at Uppsala under Tullberg and presented his habilitation thesis at Helsinki in 1844, but remained there only one year. Used Sanskrit and the methods of comparative linguistics for Greek linguistic history. In 1845-72 teacher of Latin at Turku Gymnasium, in 1858-72 its Rector. In 1847 ordained as a priest, and from 1860 minister of St. Mary (Maaria). From 1886 Dean (“tuomiorovasti”) of Turku. He married 1846 Maria Johanna Teodora von Hellens, eight children. His brother was Otto Edvard H. (1823–1913), a physician and Professor.

Publications: Diss. De digammate. 50 p. Helsinki 1844; a short (19 p.) thesis on comparison of Sanskrit and Latin presented at Turku Chapter in 1844.

– School books: a morphology of Homeric Greek (1844), the Germania of Tacitus (1846 & 1850) and other Latin texts. With C. R. Forsman, commentaries on four speeches of Cicero (1859).

Sources: Aalto, Classical Studies, 1980, 81f.; Finnish Wikipedia.