Wikipedia

Richard Kleis

Richard Adolf Kleis (6 October 1896 – 18 June 1982) was an Estonian historian, classical philologist, lexicographer, translator and encyclopedist. He is chiefly known for serving as chief editor of the interwar reference work Eesti Entsüklopeedia and for his later career as a lecturer in Latin and ancient literature at the University of Tartu.[2][3][4]

Richard Kleis
Born
Richard Adolf Kleis

(1896-10-06)6 October 1896
Tallinn, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire
Died18 June 1982(1982-06-18) (aged 85)
Tartu, then part of Estonian SSR, Soviet Union
CitizenshipEstonian
EducationMagister philosophiae (1934)
Alma materUniversity of Petrograd
University of Tartu
OccupationsHistorian, classical philologist, lexicographer, translator, encyclopedist
Known forChief editorship of Eesti Entsüklopeedia; work in Estonian lexicography and classical studies
AwardsOrder of the White Star, 4th Class (1938)[1]

Early life and education

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Kleis was born in Tallinn, the son of a small merchant.[5] He studied at Nikolai I Gymnasium in Tallinn from 1907 to 1915 and graduated with a gold medal.[5][1] He then studied history and ancient languages at the University of Petrograd in 1915–1916. His studies were interrupted by military service during the First World War and by participation in the Estonian War of Independence. He resumed his university education at the University of Tartu in 1921, graduated in history in 1925, and received the degree of magister philosophiae in 1934.[5][6]

Career

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After graduating from the University of Tartu, Kleis taught at Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Tartu. He taught history, civics and Latin, and from 1930 served as the school's inspector.[5][6] During the interwar period he also became a major figure in Estonian reference publishing. He worked on the Eesti biograafiline leksikon, edited the collective volume Tartu (1927), and went on to become chief editor of the eight-volume Eesti Entsüklopeedia, published in 1932–1937.[2][7][8]

Following the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940, Kleis worked at Tartu State University from 1941 as acting docent. During the German occupation of Estonia during World War II, he continued working in education and publishing.[5][9]

In 1944 Kleis returned to the University of Tartu. He headed the chair of the history of the USSR, served as dean of the Faculty of History and Linguistics from 1945 to 1948, and was director of the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR from 1947 to 1950. He also worked as editor-in-chief of the scholarly publishing house Teaduslik Kirjandus.[5][10]

During the Stalinist campaign against alleged "bourgeois nationalism", Kleis lost his senior positions in 1950 and was removed from the Institute of History. He subsequently worked in a Tartu bookshop before returning to the University of Tartu in 1954.[10][11] He remained at the university until his retirement in 1978, teaching Latin, ancient literature and related subjects.[5][2]

Scholarship and legacy

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Kleis's later work centred on classical philology, translation and lexicography. Together with Johannes Silvet and Eduard Vääri he helped compile the Võõrsõnade leksikon, one of the best-known Estonian dictionaries of foreign words.[12] He also contributed to the Ladina-eesti sõnaraamat, translated the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia into Estonian, worked on the Antiigileksikon, and wrote extensively for the postwar Eesti nõukogude entsüklopeedia.[2][4]

Scholars of Estonian translation history have described Kleis as one of the principal builders of the modern Estonian tradition of translating ancient literature.[4] The University of Tartu has likewise treated him as one of the university's notable twentieth-century humanities lecturers, emphasizing both his pedagogical influence and his role in preserving classical studies in Estonia across sharply different political regimes.[2]

Honours

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Kleis was awarded the Order of the White Star, 4th Class, in 1938.[1]

Selected works

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  • Võõrsõnade leksikon (with Johannes Silvet and Eduard Vääri; first published 1961)[13]
  • Antiikkirjanduse ajalugu (1980)[14]
  • Henriku Liivimaa kroonika (translation from Latin; first published 1982, reissued in later editions)[15]
  • Ladina-eesti sõnaraamat = Glossarium Latino-Estonicum (with Ülo Torpats, Lalla Gross and Heinrich Freymann; first published 1986)[16]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "KLEIS, Richard". Eesti biograafiline andmebaas ISIK (in Estonian). Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Konverents "Tartu Ülikooli legendid: Richard Kleis 120"". University of Tartu (in Estonian). Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  3. ↑ Vääri, Eduard; Kaalep, Ain (2 July 1982). "Richard Kleis. In memoriam". Sirp ja Vasar (in Estonian). No. 27. p. 4. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Päll, Janika (2012). "Eesti antiigitõlke traditsioonid". Methis. Studia humaniora Estonica (in Estonian) (9/10). doi:10.7592/methis.v7i9/10.567. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "KLEIS, RICHARD". University of Tartu Library (in Estonian). Tartu Ülikooli Raamatukogu. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  6. 1 2 Peegel, Juhan (6 October 1976). "Dotsent Richard Kleis kaheksakümnene". Kodumaa (in Estonian). p. 7. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Eesti biograafiline leksikon". DIGAR (in Estonian). National Library of Estonia. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Eesti entsüklopeedia. 6, Muther-Rakitse". DIGAR (in Estonian). National Library of Estonia. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "Richard Kleis". Sirp ja Vasar (in Estonian). No. 26. 25 June 1982. p. 15. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  10. 1 2 Tannberg, Tõnu (2018). "„Üks võimsamaid relvi võitluses kodanlise natsionalismi vastu on kindlasti eesti ajalugu…". Eesti vabariigi perioodi uurimisest Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia ajaloo instituudis aastatel 1946–1950". Ajalooline Ajakiri. The Estonian Historical Journal (in Estonian) (2/3). doi:10.12697/AA.2018.2-3.05. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  11. ↑ Lausma-Saar, Helen (2012). Ajalooteadus Nõukogude Eestis 1944–1952 (PDF) (Thesis) (in Estonian). Tallinn University, Institute of History. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Võõrsõnade leksikon: saatesõna". Institute of the Estonian Language (in Estonian). Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  13. ↑ Kleis, Richard; Silvet, Johannes; Vääri, Eduard (1961). Võõrsõnade leksikon (in Estonian). Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  14. ↑ Kleis, Richard (1980). Antiikkirjanduse ajalugu (in Estonian). Valgus. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Henry of Livonia (2023). Henriku Liivimaa kroonika (in Estonian). Translated by Richard Kleis; edited and commented by Enn Tarvel. Tänapäev. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "Ladina-eesti sõnaraamat". Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (in Estonian). Retrieved 11 April 2026.
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