LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISSIÈRE, Guillaume-Joseph-Hyacinthe-Jean-Baptiste. Coutances (Manche) 12.9.1725 — Paris 22.10.1792. French Astronomer and Traveller, in India 1768–71. Instead of the planned career in church and studied theology in Paris, but turned to astronomy. Left for India in 1760 in order to observe the transit of Venus in 1761,…
LAUFER, Berthold. Köln 11.10.1874 — Chicago 13.9.1934. German Sinologist and Anthropologist in the U.S.A. Son of Max Laufer (of Jewish background) and Eugenie Schlesinger, a wealthy family. His younger brother was —> Heinrich Laufer (1877–1925). After gymnasium in Cologne studied at Berlin 1893-95, first law, but soon ethnology and Oriental…
KROM, Nicolaas Johannes. ’s-Hertogenbosch 5.9.1883 — Leiden 8.3.1945. Dutch Archaeologist and South-East Asian Scholar. Son of the Rijksarchivaris Cornelius Catharinus Nicolaas Krom (1855–1885) and Jeanne Marie Uranie Herderschee (1857–1931). After school in Nijmegen, from 1901 studies of law, from 1902 of classical philology, Sanskrit (Kern and Speyer), Javanese and comparative…
KRAMRISCH, Stella (married Neményi). Nikolsburg (now Mikulov), Moravia 29.5.1898 — Malvern, Pa. 31.8.1993. Austrian Art Historian in India and the U.S.A. Professor in Calcutta and Philadelphia. Born in Austro-Hungarian Moravia, daughter of pharmacist Isidor Kramrisch and his wife Berta. The family moved to Vienna when she was eight or ten…
KOWALEWSKI, Józef Szczepan (Joseph Étienne K., Russian Osip Mihajlovič Kovalevskij). Grodno (now Hrodna in Belarus) or Brzostowica Wield (Vialikaja Bierastavica) near Grodno 9.1.1801(28.12.1800) — Warsaw 20.10.(7.11.)1878. Polish Mongolian and Buddhist Scholar in Russia. Professor in Kazan and Warsaw. Born in a polonized family apparently of Belarusian origin, exact birth-place seems…
KOSSOVIČ, Kaetan Andreevič. (Cajetan Kossovich). Polotsk (now Polack in Belarus) 2.(14.)5.1815 (or 1814, see Vigasin 2008, 94) — St.Petersburg 7.2.(26.1.)1883. (Bela-)Russian Indo-Iranian Scholar. Professor in St.Petersburg. Son of a Belarusian priest, brother of —> Ignatij Kossovič (1808–1878). Educated in Polock and at Vitebsk Gymnasium. In 1836-39 studied classical philology and…
KORSCH, Theodor (Fedor Evgen’evič KORŠ). Moscow 22.4.(4.5.)1843 — Moscow 16.2. (1.3.)1915. Russian IE Linguist and Sanskrit Scholar. Son of Evgenij Fëdorovič Korš, a journalist. After classical education started in 1860 studies of classical philology, Sanskrit (under Petrov), Arabic, Persian and Turkish at Moscow University. Candidate’s degree 1864, Magister 1868 Moscow,…
KONOW, Sten. Søndre Aurdal, Valdres 17.4.1867 — Oslo 29.6.1948. Norwegian Indo-Iranian Scholar. Professor in Oslo. Born in Central Norway as the son of minister Wollert Otto Konow (1833–1895, of a merchant family from Bergen) and Anne Heyerdahl. Educated in Lillehammer, matriculated in 1884. Studies of classical and Germanic philology (under…
KOHLER, Josef. Offenburg 9.3.1849 — Berlin-Charlottenburg 3.8.1919. German Legal Scholar interested in India. Son of an elementary school teacher, the elder Josef Kohler (1808–1874) and Amalie Schmieder, educated in Offenburg and Rastatt. Studies of law at Heidelberg and Freiburg, promotion 1873. After some time as attorney in Mannheim became without…
KLIMKEIT, Hans-Joachim. Ranchi, India 22.7.1939 — 7.2.1999. German scholar of Comparative, Indian and Central Asian Religions. Professor in Bonn. Son of a missionary, Johannes Klimkeit (1908–1977) of Gossner Mission and his wife Renate. Grew up in India, after internment camp during war school in Kodaikanal and Darjeeling. Came to Germany…