Early life and Siberian expeditions Donner was the son of professor (later senator)
Otto Donner, himself a noted
philologist, and Wilhelmina Sofia Charlotta Munck. Kai studied
Finno-Ugric philology at the University of Helsinki from 1906. In 1911, he studied at Cambridge under
James Frazer,
A. C. Haddon, and
W. H. R. Rivers Studying the
Finno-Ugric-speaking peoples of Siberia had become an important part of the "national sciences" that arose in answer to the interest in national "roots" following the "National Awakening" of the mid-19th century. Donner decided early on to follow in the footsteps of pioneer philologist and explorer
M. A. Castrén (1813–1852). On his first trip he travelled along the upper reaches of the
Ob and most of the
Yenisey between 1911 and 1913. His second trip took him to the Ob,
Irtysh, and upper Yenisei. Living with the
Nenets and
Khanty people, Donner studied not only the language but also the way of life and beliefs of his hosts. Conditions on the expeditions were extreme: winter temperatures sometimes fell below −50 °C, and Donner was at times forced to eat carrion to avoid starvation. In the summer of 1912 he fell seriously ill with a fever; a well-stocked medical kit saved his life. The prolonged hardships of the expeditions took a severe toll on his health and were likely the primary cause of his early death at the age of 46. == Works ==