Jaan Puhvel: key obituary facts
Is Jaan Puhvel dead? Yes. Jaan Puhvel died on April 25, 2026, at age 94.
Cause of death: Jaan Puhvel's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Jaan Puhvel known for?
He was known as American-Estonian linguist (1932-2026).
More about Jaan Puhvel
Born: 24 January 1932.
Place of birth: Tallinn.
Place of death: Los Angeles.
Gender: male.
Occupation: linguist, mythographer, Indo-Europeanist.
Nationality: Estonia, United States.
Education: Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, McGill University, Uppsala University.
Employer: University of California, Berkeley.
Awards: Order of the White Star, 3rd Class, Guggenheim Fellowship.
Spouse: Madli Puhvel.
Jaan Puhvel, the Estonian–American linguist and comparative mythologist, died on April 25, 2026.
He was 94. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, on January 24, 1932, Puhvel specialized in Indo-European studies.
After earning his Ph.D. in comparative linguistics at Harvard University, he joined the University of California, Los Angeles, where he taught classical languages, Indo-European studies and Hittite.
Jaan Puhvel (24 January 1932 – 25 April 2026) was an Estonian comparative linguist and comparative mythologist who specialised in Indo-European studies. Born in Estonia, Puhvel fled his country with his family in 1944 and eventually ended up in Canada. After gaining his Ph.D. in comparative linguistics at Harvard University, he became a professor of classical languages, Indo-European studies and Hittite at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).