Christfried Ganander (21 November 1741 in Haapajärvi – 17 February 1790 in Rantsila) was a Finnish compiler of folk culture, a priest and lexicographer. Ganander's greatest achievement was the compilation of the first fully extensive Finnish-language dictionary which was, however, unpublished. He was also a collector of folk culture well before Elias Lönnrot. His most well-known published work is Mythologia Fennica in 1789, a reference book of folk religion. He also published some poetry and worked as a teacher.
Life
Ganander was born in Haapajärvi in 1741, to chaplain Thomas Ganader and his wife Helena Hiden. After his father's death in 1752, he was taken in by his grandfather Henrik Hiden, who was also a chaplain in the vicarage of Kauhajoki. Christfried himself later worked as a chaplain in Rantsila from 1775 to 1790.
He became a priest at the Academy of Turku and was consecrated to a post in 1763. He completed his master's degree in 1766. While studying, he became influenced by the natural sciences and became interested in the notion of Finnishness of Henrik Gabriel Porthan.
