Mykola Sumtsov was born into a noble family, descendants of Cossacks. His father, Fedir Ivanovych, worked in the Ministry of Finance, and after his retirement in 1856, moved to Kharkiv, where he died the same year. Mykola Sumtsov’s mother, Ana Ivanivna, brought him up on her own. She had thorough knowledge of traditions and customs of Sloboda Ukraine as well as folk medicine. It was Ana Ivanivna, who inspired and supported Mykola’s interest in Ukrainian folklore and traditions. He studied at the 2ndKhrakiv Boys Gymnasium, which he graduated with silver medal. Afterwards, he graduated History and Philology Faculty at Kharkiv University. In 1876 he undertook several courses at Heidelberg University, Germany. In 1878 Mykola Sumtsov returned to Kharkiv University as a lecturer of Russian Literature. Supported by his mentor, Oleksander Potebnia, Mykola Sumtsov dedicated his introductory lecture to Ukrainian duma. In 1885 Mykola Sumtsov was awarded PhD degree for his thesis Khleb v Obriadakh i Pesniakh and in 1888 he became a professor. In 1902, the 12th Archaeological Congress took place in Kharkiv. The Congress was organised by the Kharkiv Historical and Philological Society, chaired by Mykola Sumtsov. Within the framework of the Congress, Mykola Sumtsov organised an ethnographic exhibition consisting of impressive 26 sections and 1490 artefacts. That exhibition became the foundation of Kharkiv University Ethnographic Museum. Mykola Sumtsov was its curator. One of the most notable of Mykola Sumtsov’s activities in support of the Ukrainian national movement was his public lecture in Ukrainian on 28 September 1907, when the ban on using Ukrainian in Ukraine had not yet been lifted. In 1916, the Russian Geographical Society awarded Mykola Sumtsov a gold medal. In 1917, Mykola Sumtsov, along with other members of Special Committee of Kharkiv University Board, signed an appeal to the government asking to allow free use of the Ukrainian in all Kharkiv institutions. One of the last projects undertaken by Mykola Sumtsov was overseeing gathering information on the local kobzars and their songs for the Hryhoriy Skovoroda Museum of Sloboda Ukraine .
Publications
Mykola Sumtsov wrote extensively. The bibliography of his known works contains 1544 entries. His writings mainly concern two areas of science: ethnography and literature. In addition to the local periodicals, his works were also published in Bulgarian, Polish, Bohemian, German and Frenchacademic publications.
Ethnographic works
1885 – Khleb v Obriadakh i Pesniakh ; 1886 – articles on Koliadky in Kievskaia Starina; 1889–1890 – articles on cultural experiences in Kievskaia Starina; 1891 – articles on Pysanky in Kievskaia Starina; 1898 – Razyskaniia v oblasti anekdoticheskoi literatury ; 1902 – Ocherki Narodnogo Byta ; and 1918 – Slobozhane: Istorychno-Etnohrafichna Rozvidka .
