Jānis Endzelīns (22 February 1873 – 1 July 1961) was a
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
n
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...
.
He graduated from the
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
. In 1908, he and
Kārlis Mīlenbahs developed the modern Latvian alphabet, which slowly replaced the old orthography used before.
He was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
in 1936. His son was chess master
Lūcijs Endzelīns.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Endzelins, Janis
1873 births
1961 deaths
People from Valmiera Municipality
People from Kreis Wolmar
Linguists from Latvia
Balticists
University of Tartu alumni
University of Latvia faculty
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Star
Recipients of the Order of the White Lion
Recipients of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
Lenin Prize winners