Rask
RASMUS CHRISTIAN, a Danish philologist; born in Brändekilde, Denmark, Nov. 22, 1787. After he had studied at the University of Copenhagen, and Iceland to increase his knowledge of he journeyed through Sweden, Russia, Northern languages, with the result that he published "An Introduction to the Knowledge of the Icelandic or Old Norse sen's "Icelandic Dictionary" (1817); and Tongue" (1811) ; an edition of Haldor- In 1817-1822 he made, at the expense of an "Anglo-Saxon Grammar" (1817).
Russia, Persia, and India. He then rethe government, a second journey to turned to Copenhagen in 1822 , was appointed Professor of Literary History and subsequently Professor of Oriental sity. During this period he published a Languages and librarian to the univer- "Spanish Grammar," a work on the Frisian language, age, and a treatise sian language, and a treatise on the Zenlanguage was closely akin to Sanskrit. davesta, in which he showed that the He died in Copenhagen , Nov. 14, 1832. given to the adherents of the dissenting