Temira Pachmuss

Temira Pachmuss
Born	(1927-12-24)December 24, 1927 Vasknarva, Estonia
Died	May 1, 2007(2007-05-01) (aged 79) Urbana, Illinois, United States
Occupation	Philologist

Temira Pachmuss (24 December 1927 – 1 May 2007) was a Russian-American philologist.^[1]

Early life and education

Pachmuss was born in Vasknarva, Ida-Viru County, Estonia. In 1939, her family moved to Germany. In the 1950s, she moved to Australia, where she received a bachelor's degree in Russian from the University of Melbourne in 1954^[2] and a master's degree in Russian in 1955.^[3] In 1955, she moved to the United States. In 1959, she defended her doctoral dissertation at the University of Washington in Seattle.^[1]

Career

She started teaching Russian literature at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1960, and she was appointed a professor in 1968.^[1] Her major fields of research were Russian literature outside Russia, including Russian writers that worked in Finland and Russia. She was especially interested in the legacy of the Russian poet Zinaida Gippius.^[1]

She died in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 79.^[4]

Awards and recognitions

In 2001, she received the Order of the White Star, medal class.^[5][6]

References

1. "In memoriam professor emerita Temira Pachmuss". Estonian World Review (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 10 March 2016.
2. "400 Students Get 'Varsity Degrees". The Argus. Melbourne, Australia. 12 April 1954. p. 9. Retrieved 18 December 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Dean Presents Last Students at Ceremony". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 19 December 1955. p. 5. Retrieved 19 December 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Rzhevsky, Nicholas (2007). "Temira Pachmuss, 1927-2007". Slavic Review. 66 (4). Retrieved 18 December 2025.
5. Wagner, Joan (6 April 2001). "Professor's Contributions Honored". The Daily Illini. Urbana, IL. p. 10. Retrieved 18 December 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Teenetemärkide kavalerid: Temira Pachmuss". www.president.ee. Retrieved 22 March 2021.