A history teacher at Hämenlinna Normal Lyceum inspired Gunnar Suolahti to pursue an academic career at the Imperial Alexander University. The young man studied at a tremendous pace and graduated as a Master of Arts in 1898.

On the recommendation of J.R. Danielson-Kalmari, in 1898–99 Suolahti decided, while writing his doctoral thesis, to complete his history studies in Germany. He studied collective history in Leipzig under the guidance of Karl Lamprecht, whose aim was to discover the rule-bound nature of history through the study of general phenomena and everyday life. Suolahti failed to warm to Lamprecht’s thoughts on the forces of history and his side-lining of the individual and individual events, but he was clearly inspired by cultural history, the study of the gestalt of collective groups and history covering longer periods of time.

Suolahti is considered the founder of the school of cultural history in Finland. He believed that national history should be presented at a grassroots level, from everyday life. Suolahti’s forte was wide-ranging groundwork and the collection of data. His studies on the Finnish clergy and peasant communities and his individual histories, for example that of Henrik Gabriel Porthan, were based on a vast amount of material. In addition to his doctoral dissertation, which dealt with H.G. Portan as a historical researcher, Suolahti also wrote two further works on Porthan.

Suolahti belonged to the Palanders, an old clerical family. Thus, it was natural that his magnum opus was the work Suomen papisto 1600- ja 1700-luvuilla (‘The Finnish clergy in the 17th and 18th centuries,’ 1919). Prior to this, as if in anticipation, he conducted a study on the clergy in the 18th century (1921). In addition he wrote the collection of essays Elämää Suomessa 1700-luvulla I–II (‘Life in Finland in the 18th century I–II,’ 1909, 1917) and Vuosisatain takaa (‘The past centuries,’ 1913). Suohahti’s style has been described as a convincing portrayal of the times only achievable by an excellent knowledge of the source material. Through his use of detail, he constructed a natural picture of the wider whole. His goal was to produce historical research that was not only aimed at the academic world but would also interest and benefit a wider audience.

Suolahti worked on several occasions as acting professor of Finnish, Russian Scandinavian and general history at Imperial Alexander University. He received his own extraordinary professorship in 1918. In 1929, he received a full professorship as professor of Finnish and Scandinavian history. In addition to his research and teaching duties he was also active in the student nations. He was the curator of the Hämäläinen student nation in 1906–08, the acting chairman in 1925–26 and the chairman 1926–30. In addition, he played a leading role in numerous academic associations and societies. For example, he was involved in the founding of the Finnish Historical Association and was the editor-in-chief of its publication Historiallisen Aikakauskirja between 1903 and 1910.

A significant achievement of the school of cultural history was the publication of the series Suomen kulttuurihistoria I–IV (‘Finnish cultural history I–IV’), which appeared between 1933 and 1936. Two other influential figures in the realisation of this work were Eino Jutikkala and Väinö Voionmaa. In fact, Suolahti was ultimately unable to write a single article for the series due to his failing health and sudden death in 1933.

Sources:

• Ahtiainen, Pekka (1991): Kulttuuri, yhteisö, yksilö – Gunnar Suolahti historiantutkijana. Finnish Historical Society 1991. Accessed September 24, 2015.
• Gunnar Suolahti, Wikipedia. Accessed September 24, 2015.
• Jutikkala, Eino (2000): Suolahti, Gunnar (1876–1933). National Biography online publication. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. Accessed September 24, 2015. Available for free on the Nelli portal.
• Helsingin yliopiston opettaja- ja virkamiesmatrikkeli 1640–1917
• Helsingin yliopiston Ylioppilasmatrikkeli 1853–1899