MATZEL, Klaus Hellmuth. Borsdorf near Leipzig 11.10.1923 — 1992. German Linguist, Germanic and Sinhalese Scholar. Professor in Regensburg. Son of Hellmuth Paul Matzel and Margaretha Werner. Educated in Hamburg. Studies at Halle, Leipzig, Jena and Berlin, mainly German, but also classics, Slavic, IE and Indology. Four years in a G.D.R.…
FAIRBANKS, Gordon Hubert. Calgary, Alberta 22.3.1913 — Honolulu, Hawaii 13.7.1985. Canadian Linguist in the U.S.A., NIA, IE, Russian and Armenian Scholar. Citizen of the U.S.A. Professor in Ithaca, Manoa and Urbana. Son of Hubert Fairbanks (1892–1970) and Constance Maud Bullock. Educated at Mount Royal College in Calgary, studies at at…
STEELE, Thomas. Walton near Brampton, Cumberland 27.5.1834 — Walton 29.12.1895. British Civil Servant in Sri Lanka. Son of William Steele, a poet. Joined the Ceylon service in 1856. Worked in Kurunegala, Galle and Kandy, then Assistant Government Agent in Hambantota (1869 there). Translator, after retirement in 1876 lived in Carlisle,…
SMITH, Helmer. Boo, Stockholms län 26.4.1882 — 9.1.1956. Swedish Indologist. Professor in Uppsala. Son of an engineer, Henning Smith (of distant British origin), and Fanny Sehlstedt (d. 1929). Matriculated from Stockholm in 1900. Studies at Uppsala: fil.kand. 1904, fil.lic. 1908. In 1909-20 further studies in Berlin, Paris (Bloch) and especially…
RUELL (de Ruël), Joannes. Leiden 1659/60 or 1663/64 — Colombo ?.5.1701. Dutch Priest in Ceylon, worked there as predikant in Colombo from 1692 until death, from 1698 also the first Rector of Sinhalese Seminary. He prepared a Sinhalese grammar, which was printed in Amsterdam in 1707 with help of “Sinhala…
ROST, Ernst Reinhold. Eisenberg, Sachsen-Altenburg 2.2.1822 — Canterbury 7.2.1896 (thus both Wikip., Weise & Wollaston; Stache-W. 2007 d. London 15.2.1896). German Indologist and South-East Asian Scholar in the U.K. Son of Christian Friedrich Rost, a Lutheran minister. After school in Altenburg studies of theology and Oriental languages at Jena (under Gildemeister). Ph.D.…
RASK, Rasmus Kristian (bapt. Rasmus Christian Rasch). Brændekilde near Odense 22.11.1787 — Copenhagen 14.11.1832. Danish Linguist and Traveller, also interested in Sanskrit and Old Iranian. Professor in Copenhagen. Son of Niels Hansen Rasch (1749–1810), a smallholder and tailor, and Birthe Rasmusdatter (d. 1801). Educated at home and in Odense, became…
TOLFREY, William. 1778 — Colombo 4.1.1817. British Colonial Officer in India and Civil Servant in Sri Lanka. Son of a colonial official (in India?), grew up in England. He came to the island in 1805, after having served in army in India in 1794–1805, participating in Mysore and Maratha wars.…
PERTOLD, Otakar. Jaroměř, Hradec Králové 21.3.1884 — Prague 3.5.1965. Czechoslovakian Indologist and Anthropologist. Professor in Prague. Born in Northern Bohemia as son of a chemist and owner of a sugar factory. Educated in Slany 1894-1902, then studies of classical philology, philosophy, Oriental languages (under Zubatý et al.) and astronomy at…
PARKER, Henry John. 1849 — 19??. British Engineer and Civil Servant in Sri Lanka. Arrived in 1873 and in 1873-1904 worked as Irrigation Officer at Public Works Department, serving in different parts of the island. Interest in ancient reservoirs led him to archaeology. At the same time he achieved an…