Paul Saagpakk was an Estonian linguist who compiled a standard reference dictionary of the Estonian language, a work that renders 500,000 Estonian expressions into English.

From 1935, he worked as an English teacher in Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

, in 1944 fled the Soviet occupation of Estonia to Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and in 1947 moved to the US. He taught English at the University of Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts

This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...

.

In 1996 he was awarded the Order of the National Coat of Arms

Order of the National Coat of Arms

The Order of the National Coat of Arms was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared...

for his achievements.

Further reading