J. V. Snellman – father of Finnish culture
Finnish Heritage Day is celebrated on the 12th of May, which is also the birthday of Johan Vilhelm Snellman, a Finnish philosopher, writer and statesman. Snellman's birthday has been marked as a national flag day in Finland since 1952.
Even though Snellman was born in Sweden in 1806, he took the issue of Finnish culture to heart and played a significant role in the creation of Finnish culture. Snellman's aims were to strengthen Finnish society and the position of the Finnish language in the Grand Duchy of Finland.
Through his teachings, along with other Fennoman philosophers such as Elias Lönnrot and Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Snellman provided a solid base for Finnish cultural life. Snellman contributed to emerging Finnish literature by writing philosophical works such as Läran om staten (Theory of State). He also published a private newspaper called Saima, but this was swiftly shut down by the authorities due to the publication of articles criticising the society.
In his later years Snellman withdrew from political life and focused mainly on philosophical issues and promoting the Fennoman ideology.
On the centenary of Snellman's birthday in 1906 over 25 000 Finns embarked on a political stunt and changed their last names from Swedish to Finnish, usually through literal translation. Name translation had happened earlier, but this was the single largest burst, aiding the Fennoman cause on its own way.