LEFMANN, Salomon. Telgte near Münster 25.12.1831 — Heidelberg 14.1.1912. German Indologist. Professor in Heidelberg. Son of a Jewish merchant and farmer, educated privately in Paderborn. After seminary in Münster worked as teacher of Jewish religion in Westfalen. At the same time studied at the universities of Münster, Heidelberg and Berlin,…
LEES, William Nassau. London 26.2.1825 — London 9.3.1889. British (Irish) Colonial Officer and Oriental Scholar in India, Specialist of Arabic, Persian and Hindustani. Fourth son of Sir Harcourt Lees, Bart. (1776–1852), a Protestant clergyman from Ireland, and Sophia Lyster, educated at Nut Grove and Trinity College in Dublin. In 1846…
LEECH, Robert. 7.12.1813 — Ambala 2.9.1845. British Colonial Officer in India. Engineer Major, Bombay Engineers, in 1836, still as Lieutenant, Assistant of Burnes, served in Afghanistan until 1842. Then Assistant Agent in Ambala. Unmarried. Publications: “Epitome of the Grammar of the Brahuiky, the Balochky, and the Panjabi languages”, JASB 7, 1838,…
LEE, Lionel Frederic. Colombo 3/4.12.1845 — Colombo 4.12.1899. Hon. British Civil Servant in Sri Lanka. Son of George Lee, Postmaster-General of Ceylon, and Martha Austin. Educated at Elizabeth College in Guernsey (1861-63). Joined I.C.S. in 1864. In 1869 Assistant Government Agent, in 1881 Registrar-General, in 1887 short time Mayor of…
LEBEDEV, Gerasim Stepanovič (Herasim Lebedeff). Jaroslavl 1749 (not 1746) — St.Petersburg 15.7.(27.7.)1817. Russian Musician, Traveller and Pioneer of Indology. Son of Stepan L. and his wife Paraskov’a. Father was a poor Orthodox clergyman, who did not allow him to obtain higher education. The family moved to St.Petersburg, where he studied…
LA VALLÉE POUSSIN, Louis Étienne Marie de. Liège 1.1.1869 — Brussels 18.2.1938. Belgian Indologist, a specialist of Buddhism and History. Professor in Ghent. Son of a French father, Gustave de La V.P. (1829–1910), and Belgian mother, Marie Pauline de Monge (1845–1876), both of families with great scholarly interests. Educated in…
LAUFER, Berthold. Köln 11.10.1874 — Chicago 13.9.1934. German Sinologist and Anthropologist in the U.S.A. Son of Max L. (of Jewish background) and Eugenie Schlesinger, his younger brother was —> Heinrich L. After gymnasium in Cologne studied at Berlin, first law, but soon ethnology and Oriental languages, then at Leipzig under…
LA TERZA (LATERZA), Ermenegildo. Putignano (Bari) 2.3.1866 — Naples 1939. Italian Indologist. Graduated at Naples as student of Kerbaker. In 1895-1911 schoolteacher of classical languages in several places (i. al. in Avellino). From 1904 Docent of Sanskrit at Naples (libero docente di filologia sanscrita), later Incaricato di filologia indoeuropea there.…
LASSEN, Christian. Bergen 22.10.1800 — Bonn 8.5.1876. Norwegian Indologist in Germany. Professor in Bonn. Son of Nicolai Christian Vendelboe L. (1748–1818), a lawyer, and Frederikke Elisabeth Frisch (1761–1830). Matriculated 1818 from Bergen school and after his father’s death went in 1819 with his mother to his married sister living in…
LARIN, Boris Aleksandrovič. Poltava 12.1.1893 — Leningrad 26.3.1964. Ukrainian Linguist in Russia, Specialist of Balto-Slavonian also interested in Sanskrit. Professor in Leningrad. Son of a schoolteacher. Educated in 1902-06 at Kamenec-Podol’skoj gimnazii and 1906-10 at Kievskoj Kollegij im. Pavla Galagana. In 1910-14 studies at Kiev University of Slavonian philology and…