Paul Saagpakk (2 September 1910 in Mustjala Parish, Kreis Ösel, Governorate of Livonia – 23 February 1996 in Kuressaare, Saaremaa) was an Estonian linguist who compiled a standard reference dictionary of Estonian[1] [2] [3] with 500,000 Estonian expressions and their English equivalents.[4]
Saagpakk graduated from the University of Tartu in 1935.[5] From 1935, he worked as an English teacher in Tallinn. He studied at Southampton University College in 1936.[5] In 1943, he fled the German occupation of Estonia to Finland, and then in 1944 to Sweden, where he earned another degree.[5] In 1946, he moved to the US, and he obtained US citizenship in 1949.[5] He received a doctorate from Columbia University in 1966.[5] After teaching at Rutgers University, Newark State Teachers College, and Upsala College, he taught English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst until his retirement in 1981.[5]
In 1996 he was awarded the Order of the National Coat of Arms for his achievements.
After the fall of the Soviet regime in Estonia, Saagpakk returned to Estonia in 1995, and he died at his home in Kuressaare in 1996.[5]