Fredrik Tamm
1847–1905.
Linguist.
Fredrik Tamm was born in Tveta in Södermanland and defended 1875 with a treatise on Swedish etymology, which is the doctrine of Proverbs ' historical origins and elaborated Etymological Swedish dictionary through the letter K.
Tamm devoted himself especially to etymological works and Swedish dictionary theory. For many years, Tamm stood in for the ailing professor of Swedish, Frits Läffler. From 1883-1898, Tamm was acting professor of Swedish for a total of ten years.
Uppsala University attempted to establish a professorship for Tamm, but it was not granted by the Royal Council. Maj:t, probably because at the time there was already a professor of Nordic languages and one of Swedish language. 1897 Tamm instead received the name, honour and dignity of professor.
Shortly afterwards, Tamm's wife passed away and he was diagnosed with facial cancer. The operation he underwent left him with a severe speech impediment.
On his birthday, March 30, 1905 he died and Nathan Söderblom held the eulogy in which was said:
"No one could be a better listener than he, whether it was for funny stories or scientific lectures, which he faithfully attended to the end whenever they were offered".
Burial site: 0132-1406
Image description: Fredrik Tamm with his wife Augusta Josefina Elisabeth Lundqvist, Uppsala 1894. Photo: Alfred Dahlgren / UUB. [The image is cropped]
Click here for an uncropped image