September of the current year will mark the passing of 170 years since the birth of Karl August Hermann (1851–1909). Hermann worked his entire conscious life to foster Estonian culture and the Estonian language. He compiled a grammar textbook of the Estonian language, created the names for the Estonian cases and many new words that enriched the language, which are still in use today. Hermann wrote and compiled the first encyclopaedia in Estonian, the Encyklopädia konversationi-lexikon, and published it at his own expense. Hermann’s contribution to cultivating Estonian musical culture is invaluable: he collected and published folk songs, created choral music, conducted choirs and song festivals, and published the first music periodical in Estonian. We must also not forget that it was Hermann who gave the Estonian public the first Estonian-language daily newspaper when the Postimees newspaper that he ran started appearing as a daily as of 2 August 1891.

Karl August Hermann’s letter to Jaan Tõnisson from July of 1903 is relatively exceptional because not only does Hermann write about the questions that troubled him when he was writing the letter, rather, at least to a certain extent, he also sums up his entire life up to that point. In some sense, this letter is even tragic because it shows that Hermann did not have the strength to feel joy and pride regarding what he had accomplished, and that disappointment and bitterness ate at his soul. At the same time, the letter provides a possible explanation for his unflagging will to work for the benefit of Estonia and for his last major undertaking, on which he spent the little money that he had in its entirety: to purchase the newspaper Valgus and his attempt to turn it into a popular daily newspaper.