Johan Vilhelm Snellman (; 12 May 1806 – 4 July 1881) was a Finland-Swedish philosopher, journalist and statesman, and one of the leading figures of Fennoman nationalism in 19th-century Finland. A central exponent of Hegelian philosophy in the Nordic countries, he is regarded as one of the most important 'awakeners' of Finnish national identity, alongside Elias Lönnrot and J. L. Runeberg.
As editor of the newspapers Saima (1844–1846) and Litteraturblad (from 1847), Snellman introduced modern social criticism into Finnish public debate and argued that the educated classes should adopt Finnish as a language of culture and administration. He was appointed professor of philosophy at the University of Helsinki in 1856 and served as a senator and head of the first department of the finance committee from 1863 to 1868, during which time he carried through the monetary reform that pegged the Finnish markka to silver.
He soon turned to philosophy and took his master's degree in 1832.
Exile in Sweden and Germany
As a consequence, Snellman left Finland in 1839 and spent the years 1839–1842 in Sweden and Germany. and Maamiehen Ystävä in Finnish.
Snellman's birthday, 12 May, is one of Finland's flag days and is celebrated as the "Day of Finnish Identity" (also known as "Finnish Heritage Day").
Works
Snellman's principal philosophical works include Försök till en framställning af Logiken (1837), the three-part Philosophisk Elementar-Curs (1837–1840), Versuch einer speculativen Entwicklung der Idee der Persöhnlichkeit (1841) and his political-philosophical magnum opus Läran om Staten (The Doctrine of the State, 1842).