SENN, Alfred. Blotzheim, Alsace (then Germany) 19.3.1899 — Ashford, CT 9.2.1978. Swiss Linguist of Baltic, German and IE in Lithuania and the U.S.A. Born of Catholic Swiss parents in Alsace near Swiss border as the son of a farmer, Alfred Senn and Berta Affolter, home in Bennwill, Canton Basel. School…
SCHERER, Anton. Munich 31.8.1901 — Heidelberg 7.5.1981. German IE Scholar. Professor in Heidelberg. Son of an artisan, educated at Maxgymnasium in Munich. Studied IE, Greek, German, Egyptology and juridics at Munich, under Herbig, Kieckers, Sommer, et al. Ph.D. 1932 Munich (in Greek). In 1932-48 schoolteacher. PD 1947 Munich. In 1948-51…
SCHEFTELOWITZ, Isidor Isaac. Sandersleben, Anhalt 1.5.1875 — Oxford 17/18.12.1934. German (Jewish) Indo-Iranian Scholar. Professor and Rabbi in Köln. Son of Benjamin Scheftelowitz (1848–1918, a rabbi and teacher) and Jenny Yohana Epstein (1849–1909). After school in Königsberg worked in trade, from 1897 studies at Königsberg and Berlin. Ph.D. 1901 Königsberg (under…
SAUSSURE, Ferdinand de. Geneva 26.9.1857 — Vufflens-le-Château, Vaud 22.2.1913. Swiss Linguist. Professor in Geneva. Son of Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure (1829–1905), a mineralogist and entomologist, and Louise de Pourtalès, the family was originally of Lorraine nobility, settled in Switzerland in the 16th century. His brother was Sinologist Léopold de…
SALYS, Antanas (Anthony). Reketė, North-West Lithuania 21.7.1902— Philadelphia 31.7.1972. Lithuanian IE and Baltic Linguist, later in the U.S.A. Educated in Telsini. Studies of comparative linguistics, Slavic and Lithuanian at Kaunas and Leipzig (Trautmann). Ph.D. 1929 Leipzig. In 1930-39 PD of IE at Vytautas University in Kaunas, developed experimental phonetics of…
WULFF, Kurt. Hellerup 4.9.1881 — Copenhagen 4.5.1939. Danish Linguist (Indologist, South-East and East Asian Scholar and Sinologist). Librarian in Copenhagen. Son of Peter Wulff (1841–1898), a cigar manufacturer, and Emma Catharina Mathilde Heydorn (1846–1926), a Holsteinian (German, but politically on Danish side) family. Matriculated in 1900, studied classics at Copenhagen,…
WÜST, Walther. Kaiserslautern 7.5.1901 — Munich 21.3.1993. German Indologist and IE Linguist. Professor in Munich. Son of a teacher. From 1920 studies of German, French and Indology at Munich. Ph.D. 1923 Munich. PD 1926 Munich. From 1932 ao. Professor and from 1935 ord. (Oertel’s successor, now for “Arische Kultur- und…
WOOD, Francis Asbury. Point Bluff (or Springville), Wis. 17.1.1859 — La Jolla, Calif. 19.6.1948. U.S. IE and Germanic Linguist. Professor in Chicago. Son of Rev. Harvey Colcord Wood (1817–1910) and Ann Jane Ellis. Educated at Northwestern University (A.B. 1880, A.M. 1883). In 1988-90 further studies at Göttingen in Germany. In…
WOLFENDEN, Stuart Norris. London 1889 — Berkeley, Calif. 28.12.1938 (when 47). British Tibeto-Burman Linguist in the U.S.A. Son of physician Richard Norris Wolfenden and Jessie Stuart Jardine, born with somewhat crippled hip. Parents separated in practice 1892 (formally 1902) because of mother’s alcoholism, grew up with his father in Pangbourne,…
WISSMANN, Friedrich Wilhelm Hans. Berlin 27.2.1899 — Munich 21.12.1966. German IE Linguist. Son of bank clerk Otto Wissmann, gymnasium in Berlin. From 1917 military service, from 1919 studied under W, Schulze at Berlin. Ph.D. 1930, then worked 1933-39 as Assistant at Berlin. PD 1938 Berlin, in 1939 he moved to Halle,…