Kaarle Krohn

Born in Helsinki on May 10, 1863, he became one of Finland’s best-known scholars of folklore and folk poetry. He taught at the University of Helsinki and is especially remembered for developing the geographic-historic method, an approach that compares many versions of a tale or poem to trace how traditions spread and changed over time.

Much of his research focused on the epic poetry behind the Kalevala and on Finnish oral tradition more broadly. Outside Finland, his name is closely tied to the so-called Finnish school of folklore research, which influenced how folktales were collected, compared, and interpreted by later scholars.

He came from a remarkably literary family: his father was the writer Julius Krohn, and his sister Aino Kallas became a noted author. He died on July 19, 1933, leaving a lasting place in the history of folklore studies.