Krišjānis Valdemārs
| Krišjānis Valdemārs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
December 2, 1825 Ārlava parish, Russian Empire (now Valdgale parish, Courland, Latvia) |
| Died | December 7, 1891 (aged 66) Moscow, Russian Empire (now Russia) |
| Occupation | Editor, politician, folklorist |
| Movement | Young Latvians |
Krišjānis Valdemārs (in Germanized spelling as Christian Waldemar or Woldemar) (December 2, 1825 at "Vecjunkuri" in the Ārlava parish (now Valdgale parish, Courland, Latvia) – December 7, 1891 in Moscow, Russia) was a writer, editor, educator, politician, lexicographer, folklorist and economist, the spiritual leader of The First Latvian National Awakening and the most prominent member of the Young Latvians movement.
Krišjānis Valdemārs was born in December 2, 1825 at "Vecjunkuri" homestead, Ārlava parish (now Valdgale parish, Courland, Latvia). He was the son of a Lutheran curate Mārtiņš Valdemārs. He graduated from local parish school and worked as a teacher in Sasmaka (now named Valdemārpils in his honor). Later he worked as a parish secretary in Rundāle and Ēdole parish.
In 1854 he graduated from gymnasium in Liepāja and started his studies at the University of Tartu (then Dorpat). His main subject and interest were economics. While studying there he became known with the first public declaration of Latvian nationality. He affixed a carte de visite to his door that read "C. Woldemar stud. cam. Latweetis." At the time, it was almost unheard of for an educated person to call himself a Latvian; education meant Germanisation, and Valdemārs' act has been compared with Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses at the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in its importance for the birth of Latvian nationalism. Valdemārs is seen as the spiritual father of the First Awakening. With Juris Alunāns, he led Latvian student gatherings while in Tartu and advocated the study of folklore.
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