August Jakobson
August Jakobson was an Estonian writer and politician. He was the only Estonian playwright among his contemporaries whose plays were untouched by Soviet censorship and reached other Soviet states. He has been described as the leading Stalinist in Soviet Estonian drama. In the 1960s his work was described as "ideologically militant".
Born Augustin Jakobson in Pärnu, he was the son of Mihkel Jakobson and Maria Jakobson. Jakobson graduated from school in 1926 in Pärnu, then studied economics at the University of Tartu from 1926 to 1929 and medicine from 1931 to 1935. However, he left school without acquiring a formal degree. His debut novel, Vaeste-patuste alev, won the first place award in a literary competition sponsored by the publishing house Loodus.
He was the head of the Estonian Writers' Union in 1939–1940 and in 1944–1946.
From August 1940, Jakobson was a member of a Soviet censorship committee. From 1950 to 1958 he was the head of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Near the Endla Theatre in Pärnu stands a monument for Jakobson.
