Martin Puhvel (9 December 1933 – 7 December 2016) was a literature researcher of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n origin. Born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, he moved to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

with his parents in 1944, thereafter to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

the same year and to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1949. He studied at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

(Montreal) from 1949–1954; and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(Boston) from 1954–1958. Puhvel was a lecturer at the McGill University for

old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

and medieval English literature from 1957 to 1996. He had been a professor since 1980 and professor emeritus since 1998.

Jaan Puhvel Jaan Puhvel (born 24 January 1932) is an Estonian comparative linguist and comparative mythologist who specializes in Indo-European studies. Born in Estonia, Puhvel fled his country with his family in 1944 following the Soviet occupation o ...

is his brother.

Academic Works

Puhvel published 52 works, including the books "'Beowulf' and Celtic Tradition," "The Crossroads in Folklore and Myth," "Cause and Effect in 'Beowulf,'" and "'Beowulf': A Verse Translation and Introduction." He lectured in Canada, the United States, Britain and Italy. He was a member of a number of academic organizations.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Puhvel, Martin 1933 births 2016 deaths Estonian philologists Canadian philologists McGill University alumni Harvard University alumni Estonian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Estonian descent Estonian World War II refugees People from Tallinn Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class