When and where was Jaan Puhvel born?
Jaan Puhvel was born in Tallinn, Estonia on the 24th of January 1932. His family fled their home country following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in April 1944.
Questions about Jaan Puhvel
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What university did Jaan Puhvel attend to earn his PhD?
Jaan Puhvel received his PhD in comparative linguistics from Harvard University in 1959. He studied at Sorbonne University in Paris during the 1954-1955 academic year before completing his doctoral degree.
Which major dictionary project did Jaan Puhvel edit for decades?
The Hittite Etymological Dictionary project began publication in 1984 under Mouton de Gruyter with Jaan Puhvel editing the ongoing series throughout his career at UCLA. As of 2020 ten volumes had been released after more than half a century of work.
How long did Jaan Puhvel serve as Chairman of the Department of Classics at UCLA?
Jaan Puhvel served as Chairman of the Department of Classics from 1968 until 1975. He taught classical languages at UCLA starting in 1958 and became Professor of Indo-European Studies there in 1965.
What specific linguistic theory did Jaan Puhvel prove through his dissertation?
Jaan Puhvel focused his doctoral dissertation on the laryngeal theory within Indo-European studies. This work was published as Laryngeals and the Indo-European Verb in 1960 by University of California Press.