Background
Frans Eemil Sillanpää was born into a peasant farming family in Hämeenkyrö.
Frans Eemil Sillanpää was born into a peasant farming family in Hämeenkyrö.
In 1908 he moved to Helsinki to study medicine. Here his acquaintances included the painters Eero Järnefelt and Pekka Halonen, composer Jean Sibelius and author Juhani Aho. Five years later, in 1913 Sillanpää moved from Helsinki to his old home village, married, and devoted himself to writing.
In 1939, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his deep understanding of his country"s peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature."
The asteroid 1446 Sillanpää, discovered on January 26, 1938 by the renowned Finnish astronomer and physicist Yrjö Väisälä, was named after him.
Sillanpää died on 3 June 1964 in Helsinki aged 75.