Hendrik Sepp
Hendrik Sepp was an Estonian historian who taught and held academic appointments in Estonian and Nordic history at the University of Tartu. In 1938, he was appointed to the first membership of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.
Sepp was born in Ristiküla in Saarde Parish. He attended the Pärnu Boys' Gymnasium and studied history at the University of Tartu, graduating with the degree cand. hist. He was a member of the Korporatsioon Sakala student fraternal organization.
Academic career
From 1914 to 1917 Sepp worked as a teacher in Samara Governorate, and from 1919 he was affiliated with the University of Tartu as a research stipendiate in Estonian and Nordic history. Between 1923 and 1931 he lectured and led seminars at the university, and in 1931 he defended a dr. phil. degree with a monograph on the Battle of Narva. He was confirmed as a docent in Estonian and Nordic history in 1931, appointed adjunct professor in 1938, and extraordinary professor in 1942.
Research
Sepp's research focused especially on warfare in the eastern Baltic, including the Great Northern War, and he also published on economic, cultural and social history. The Estonian Academy of Sciences’ biographical note credits him with nearly 300 historical writings.
Narva piiramine ja lahing a. 1700.Eesti majandusajalugu. I.Põhja-Eesti majanduslik olustik XIX sajandi teisel poolel.
Legacy
Since 2013, the Estonian War Museum and the Ministry of Defence have awarded the annual Hendrik Sepp Prize for outstanding publications in Estonian military history. Independent coverage of the prize has also appeared in the cultural weekly Sirp.