Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (Fählmann) (31 December 1798 in Ao Manor,

Kreis Jerwen Jerwen County (german: Kreis Jerwen, german: Kreis Weissenstein, et, Järva kreis, et, Paide kreis, russian: Йервенский уезд, russian: Вейсенштейнский уезд) was one of the four counties of the Russian Empire loca ...

– 22 April 1850 in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

) was an Estonian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

active in

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. He was a co-founder of the

Learned Estonian Society The Learned Estonian Society ( et, Õpetatud Eesti Selts, shortened ÕES; german: Gelehrte Estnische Gesellschaft, shortened GEG) is Estonia's oldest scholarly organisation, and was formed at the University of Tartu in 1838. Its charter was to stu ...

at the

University of Dorpat 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 ...

and its chairman (1843-1850). He was born to the family of the manager of Ao Manor (now in

Väike-Maarja Parish Väike-Maarja Parish ( et, Väike-Maarja vald) is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Lääne-Viru County. It has a population of 5,421 (as of 1 January 2009) and an area of 457.39 km². Settlements ;Small boroughs Kiltsi, Rakke, Simuna, ...

) in

. In 1825 he graduated from the medical department of the

. In 1827 he earned the

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

degree and become a physician in

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern Europe, Northern Europe, European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres ...

(now Tartu). In addition he gave lectures in the

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160,0 ...

at the university during 1842–1850. In the 1820s he became interested in

Estonian culture The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the country's Finnic national language Estonian, with Nordic and German cultural aspects. The culture of Estonia is considered to be significantly influenced by that of the ...

and, in 1838, became a co-founder of the

. He brought attention to

Estonian folklore The earliest mentioning of Estonian singing dates back to Saxo Grammaticus' ''Gesta Danorum'' (c. 1179). Saxo spoke of Estonian warriors who sang at night while waiting for a battle. Henry of Livonia at the beginning of the 13th century describe ...

, notably the

Kalevipoeg ''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th century epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald which has since been considered the Estonian national epic. Origins In pre-Christian ancient Estonia there existed an oral tradition of legends e ...

which, since his death, has become the Estonian

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with as ...

, thanks to the efforts of another Estophile,

Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald ( – ) was an Estonian writer who is considered to be the father of the national literature for the country. He is the author of Estonian national epic ''Kalevipoeg''. Life Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's pare ...

. He also recorded a number of tales. In 1840 his story " Koit ja Hämarik" (Dawn and Dusk) was first published. He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in Dorpat.

Publications

* M.D. dissertation
Observationes inflammationum occultiorum
(1827) * "Versuch einer neuen Anordnung der Conjunctionen in der estnischen Sprache" (1842) * "Ueber die Declination der estnischen Nomina" (1844) * "Die Ruhrepidemie in Dorpat im Herbst 1846" (1846) * "Verhandlungen der Gelehrten estnischen Gesellschaft" (1852)

In memoriam

In 1930 a bronze bust (sculptor V. Mellik) was installed in

. In 1998 the Estonian Post issued a

postmark A postmark is a postal marking made on an envelope, parcel, postcard or the like, indicating the place, date and time that the item was delivered into the care of a postal service, or sometimes indicating where and when received or in transit. ...

in the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of his birth.Birth Bicentenary of Friedrich Robert Faehlmann
/ref>

References and notes

External links

Friedrich Robert Faehlmann at Estonian Writers' Online Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faehlmann, Friedrich Robert 1798 births 1850 deaths People from Väike-Maarja Parish People from Kreis Jerwen Estonian physicians Physicians from the Russian Empire Estonian non-fiction writers Estophiles University of Tartu alumni University of Tartu faculty 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Estonia Burials at Raadi cemetery