Endel Aruja (5 July 1911 – 4 February 2008) was an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

specialising in

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science of determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to Diffraction, diffract in specific directions. By measuring th ...

, encyclopedian,

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

, supporter of libraries and a long-term Estonian expatriate activist.

Short biography

Aruja was born in Soontaga,

Kreis Dorpat Kreis Dorpat (''Tartu kreis'', ''Дерптский уезд'', 1893-1918 ''Юрьевский уезд'') was one of the nine subdivisions of the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northeastern part of the gove ...

, in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

, and was initially schooled in his birthplace. For

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and later,

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

education, 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 ...

. After earning his M.Sc., he worked in 1938–1939 as a physics

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

assistant in the

Tallinn Technical University Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; ) is the only technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administration and maritime affairs. TalT ...

, then moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he received his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1943. In 1962, he moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Education

In 1935, Aruja graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

. In 1938, Aruja successfully defended his M.Sc. thesis. In 1939, Aruja was granted a scholarship by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

and moved to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where he received his PhD in physics from the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1943.

Estonian expatriate activism

Aruja participated in founding and running of a number of Estonian organisations in England: the London Estonian Society, which he chaired for six years, the Estonian Association of England and the London Estonian House. He was the

vice chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the organising committee of the 1984 ESTO, which was held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Aruja was an active participant of the Baltic Estonian Council, the Baltic Humanitarian Association, the Estonian National Fund () and the Estonian National Council, and he both edited and distributed periodical publications of these organisations. For this, he set up the publishing house Northern Publications. He's also written a number of Estonia-themed articles for the

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

, appearing among contributors of articles such a
Estonia: Independence lost
Most recently, Aruja was the first secretary of the

Tartu Institute Tartu College is a not for profit student residence on the north side of Bloor Street West, just east of Madison Avenue, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Most of its residents are students of the University of Toronto. Tartu College was built in 197 ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada from its founding in 1972 until 2004.

Tartu Kolledž ja Tartu Instituut Torontos
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Book deliveries

Since 1986, Aruja had been organising supplies Estonian libraries with Estonian books published abroad. (The libraries had been unable such books during the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

due to the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

.) The first major shipment of 160 boxes, weighing about 5000 kg, arrived in 1989. Eventually, Aruja succeeded in delivering over 7000 boxes of books to various Estonian libraries, including all the major ones.

Collections

As an

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can cons ...

and

, Aruja collected eight roomfuls, totalling about 236 square metres, worth of archival material, resulting in one of the most extensive cultural compendiums of Estonian expatriates.

Awards

In 1990, Endel Aruja was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

by the

; in 1998, the

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

recognised his work by an

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

of class V, in 2002, he was awarded a medal of service by the Tartu University Library, and in 2003, the

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

Rotalia awarded him an honorary colour band.

Sources

* Baltic Heritage Network
Obituary. Dr Endel Aruja (5.07.1911-4.02.2008)
by Piret Noorhani * Universitas Tartuensis
Endel Aruja in memoriam
* eesti.ca
Dr. Endel Aruja — In Memoriam
by Olev Träss

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aruja, Endel 1911 births 2008 deaths People from Tõrva Parish People from Kreis Dorpat 20th-century Estonian physicists University of Tartu alumni Estonian expatriates in Canada Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class Estonian expatriates in the United Kingdom