New insights into Leonard Bloomfield’s early life and career

Summary Since relatively little is known about Leonard Bloomfield’s early life and career, this article aims to shed new light on it with the help of archival and other sources. While some additional information on Bloomfield’s early life is provided, the focus of the article is on Bloomfield’s years at the University of Illinois (1910–1921), especially his promotion to Assistant Professor of Comparative Philology and German, his study of non-Indo-European languages and his resignation following an offer from the Ohio State University. Arguably, the most important finding is that Bloomfield himself initiated the discussions on the introduction of courses in general and comparative linguistics at the University of Illinois and that the implementation of his proposal led to his promotion and a year’s stay in Germany.