Hans Sofus Vodskov (1846-1910)
Literary critic, philosophy teacher, independent scholar of religion.
When H.S. Vodskov moved from the provinces to Copenhagen in the 1860s, he soon joined a group of young freethinkers including the writer and translator of the Origin of Species and Descent of Man, J.P. Jacobsen. Vodskov wrote a detailed and positive review of the former work in the conservative newspaper Dagbladet in 1873. From 1885 he was awarded scholarships from the state and from the Carlsberg Foundation in order to pursue studies of mythology and religion. Inspired by Hippolyte Taine’s materialistic approach to history, he attempted to develop a grand theory of the global history of religions, cultures and races. His writings were an important source of inspiration to the writer and populariser of evolution Johannes V. Jensen.
Hans Henrik Hjermitslev
