Atis Kronvalds or Kronvaldu Atis (15 April 1837 – 17 February 1875) was a Latvian writer,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and pedagogue, as well as a prominent member of the Young Latvia movement.

Early life

Kronvalds was born to a tailor's family, but he was raised by priests in Durbe. After studying in

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

, he became a private teacher. In 1860 he started studying medicine at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

; however, he left after half a year when he ran out of money. He returned to

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, where he resumed work as a private teacher in Durbe.

Participation in "Young Latvians" movement

After returning to Latvia, Kronvalds joined the Latvian nationalist movement " Young Latvians" and became a passionate advocate of Latvian rights,

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

, and culture. In 1865 he moved to

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

to study pedagogy at the University of Tartu. In 1868 he became a teacher at the teacher seminary there. He participated in the social activities of local Latvian society; notably, he renewed the "Latvian evenings" tradition begun by Krišjānis Valdemārs. He also wrote works of educational theory and several articles on education and linguistics. In 1872 he wrote ''Nationale Bestrebungen'', the manifesto of the Young Latvians. In 1873 Kronvalds moved to Vecpiebalga, where he worked as a teacher in a local school; he also participated by delivering two speeches, in the first Latvian Song and Dance Festival in the same year. He is one of the most famous Latvian authors of all time.

Works

* ''Dzeja jeb poēzija'' (1869) * ''Vecas valodas jauni vārdi'' (1869) * ''Tēvuzemes mīlestība'' (1871) * ''Valodas kopējiem'' (1872) * ''Nationale Bestrebungen'' (1872) * ''Tautiskie centieni'' (1887) * Kopoti raksti 2 sēj. (1936–1937) * Selected works ''Tagadnei'' (1987)

References

1837 births 1875 deaths People from South Kurzeme Municipality People from Grobiņa county Linguists from Latvia Latvian writers 19th-century Latvian writers Linguists from the Russian Empire Latvian people from the Russian Empire 19th-century writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century educators from the Russian Empire University of Tartu alumni {{Latvia-writer-stub