THURNEYSEN, Eduard Rudolf. Basel 14.3.1857 — Bonn 9.8.1940. Swiss IE and Celtic Scholar in Germany. Professor in Freiburg and Bonn. Son of silk manufacturer Emil Thurneysen and Elisabeth Merian, educated in Basel. Studied at Basel, Leipzig (Windisch), Berlin (H. Zimmer) and Paris (Gaidoz). Ph.D. 1879 Leipzig. PD 1882 Jena. From…
THOMAS, Frederick William. Wilnecote, Tamworth, Staffordshire 21.3.1867 — Branburg, Oxfordshire 6.5.1956. British Indologist. Professor in Oxford. Son of coal mine clerk Frederick Thomas (1834–1890) and Frances Blayney, educated at King Edward’s School in Birmigham (began Sanskrit already there). Studied at Cambridge from 1885 classics and Indology (under Cowell), graduated B.A.…
PRZYLUSKI, Jean (Jan Przyłuski). Le Mans (Sarthe) 17.8.1885 — Mareil-sur-Loir (Sarthe) or Paris (?) 27.10.1944. French Indologist, South East Asian scholar and Linguist. Professor in Paris. Born in a modest family with Polish origin. Studies at Rennes and Paris (sociology under Hubert and Mauss, Chinese under Chavannes). In 1907-13 at E.F.E.O.…
PRINTZ, Wilhelm Georg-Friedrich Jakob. Karlsruhe 9.8.1887 — Halle 23.2.1941. German Indologist. Librarian in Halle. Son of merchant Wilhelm Printz (d. 1931) and Margarete Jung. After school in Karlsruhe and Mannheim started 1905 study of modern languages at Leipzig, but soon moved to Indology (Windisch). In 1907 continued under Kielhorn at…
PRENDERGAST, Thomas. Madras 22.4.1806 — Cheltenham, Gloucestershire 14.11.1886. Sir. British Civil Servant and Linguist in India. Son of General Sir Jeffery Prendergast (1769–1856), of Indian army, and Elizabeth Dalrymple. After studies at Haileybury in 1825-26 joined the Madras Civil Service in 1826, served in Tanjore, Nellore, Guntur and Tinnevelly. Finally…
PRELLWITZ, Walther. Tilsit, East Prussia (now Sovetsk in Russia) 4.2.1864 — 1945. German Greek and IE Linguist. Probably student of Bezzenberger. Ph.D. 1885 Königsberg. Worked as teacher in Tilsit. From 1901 PD (?), from 1924 ao. Professor of Comparative Linguistics at Königsberg. The Lithuanian page www.mlw.lt claims that he died…
POULTNEY, James Wilson. Chattolanee, county Baltimore, MD 21.9.1907 — Baltimore 8.6.1993. U.S. IE Linguist and Classical Scholar. Professor in Baltimore. Son of William D. Poultney (1872–1931) and Elinor Donnell Wilson (1882–1974). M.A. 1932, Ph.D. 1934 Johns Hopkins (diss. on Aristophanes). In 1934-37 taught Greek and Latin at Johns Hopkins. Then…
POUCHA, Pavel. Vienna 29.12.1905 — Prague 15.1.1986. Czech Indo-Iranian, Mongolian and Tocharian Scholar. Son of tailor František Poucha. After early years in Vienna, where his parents lived for a while, he came in the age of seven to Neuhaus (now Jindřichův Hradec in Southern Bohemia) and attended classical gymnasium there.…
POTT, August Friedrich. Nettelrede (now Nesselröden) near Hannover 14.11.1802 (or 14.9.) — Halle 5/6.7.1887. German IE Scholar. Professor in Halle. Son of a minister, he lost early his father and at nine also his mother. Grew up in the home of his uncle, Rev. G. H. Deicke (1765–1843), attended lyceum…
POTEBNJA, Oleksandr Opanasovyč (Russian Aleksandr Afanasevič). Maniv near Havrylivka (Gavrilovka), dt. Poltava 10/22.9.1835 — Harkiv 29.11./11.12.1891. Ukrainian Linguist. Born in a noble Cossack family. After school in Radom (now in Poland) studied from 1851 at Harkov (Harkiv) law, history and philology (graduated 1856) and then Slavistics (grad. 1860), i.al. under…