author
Jaakko Forsman
1839–1899
A key figure in 19th-century Finland, he helped bring Finnish into legal scholarship and played an important role in shaping the country’s criminal law. Alongside his academic career, he was active in politics and in the Fennoman movement that promoted Finnish language and culture.
1 Audiobook
Tietoja maailman kansoista, heidän tavoista, uskonnoista ja vaiheista
by Jaakko Forsman
About the author
Born in Vähäkyrö on July 30, 1839, Jaakko Forsman became one of Finland’s most influential legal scholars of the late 1800s. He studied at the University of Helsinki and is remembered for producing the first Finnish-language legal dissertation accepted by the university’s Faculty of Law, an important step at a time when Finnish was still gaining ground in public and academic life.
Forsman later served for many years as professor of criminal law and legal history at the University of Helsinki, and he eventually became the university’s rector. He also took part in public life as a politician and was closely connected with the Fennoman movement, which worked to strengthen the status of the Finnish language and national culture.
He has often been described as a major force in the development of Finnish criminal law, with his teaching and writing leaving a lasting mark on legal thought in Finland. Forsman died in Helsinki on September 26, 1899.