Þorvaldur Thoroddsen

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Þorvaldur Thoroddsen

Þorvaldur Thoroddsen (born June 6, 1855 on Flatey in Breiðafjörður ; † September 28, 1921 in Copenhagen / Denmark ) was an Icelandic geographer and geologist . He was best known for dealing with his specialty Iceland . He is considered one of the pioneers of scientific geology in his country.

Origin and family

Þorvaldur Thoroddsen was the son of the administrator (Sýslumaður) and poet Jón Thoroddsen (1818–1868) and his wife Kristín Ólína Þorvaldsdóttir Sívertsen (1833–1879).

One of his brothers was Skúli Thoroddsen , also an administrative officer, newspaper editor and member of the Icelandic parliament.

Þorvaldur was born on the island of Flatey in Breiðafjörður , but grew up first in the southern Westfjords and finally in Leirá í Leirársveit near Borgarnes . At the age of 11 he traveled to Reykjavík to go to school and during this time he lived with the legend collector and folk scientist Jón Árnason , to whose wife he was related. He was finally adopted by him at the age of 13 after the death of his father.

Higher education, studies

Þorvaldur joined the Lærði skólinn í Reykjavík in 1875 , the forerunner of today's high school Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík . After graduating, he went to the University of Copenhagen, where he concentrated on studying natural sciences and biology (animal science), but initially had little interest in geography. However, this changed from 1876 when he accompanied the Danish geographer Johannes Frederik Johnstrup on an expedition to the Icelandic highlands ( Mývatnsöræfi ) and the Askja , especially since the volcano had only had a major eruption the year before .

Professional career and further field research

Iceland map by Þorvaldur Thoroddsen

As a result, Þorvaldur Thoroddsen took various positions as a science teacher in Iceland.

He was able to date the last eruptions of the Eldgjá volcanic fissure in the Katla volcanic system fairly accurately. According to Schutzbach, it assumed the years shortly after the settlement of Iceland (in this case 930-956), which was later only slightly revised by colleagues.

At Vatnajökull , Þorvaldur Thoroddsen also carried out investigations on the glaciers following Sveinn Pálsson . The exact position of the Grímsvötn - central volcano , but scientists could not locate.

In 1895, after a few short stays, he moved entirely to Copenhagen . After undertaking excursions and longer research trips through Iceland since 1882, he has now completed them. The scientific results were mainly published in the journal Andvara and were later used in a number of other works.

In Copenhagen he had the opportunity to access specialist literature that would not have been available to him at the University of Iceland at the time. With the help of his own fortune and the support u. a. the Icelandic parliament he could afford this financially.

He achieved particular fame through a map of Iceland based on his own research, which he published in 1901.

He received many awards for his work, e. B. an honorary doctorate from the University of Copenhagen .

End of life

After a stroke , Þorvaldur Thoroddsen lay in the hospital bed for several months until he finally died on September 28, 1921.

Selected publications

  • Þorvaldur Thoroddsen: The history of Icelandic geography 1–2 , Leipzig 1897–1898.
  • Þorvaldur Thoroddsen: Iceland. Ground plan of geography and geology , Gotha 1905–1906, 4 + 358 pp.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See e.g. B. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3001331 Tímarit DV, June 6, 2000 (in Icelandic); downloaded on March 22, 2018
  2. ↑ http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3001331 Tímatit DV, 6.6.2000, downloaded on March 22, 2018
  3. ↑ http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3001331 Tímatit DV, 6.6.2000; downloaded on March 22, 2018
  4. ^ W. Schutzbach: Iceland. Fire Island in the Arctic Circle. Düsseldorf 1986. p. 95
  5. ↑ Thor Thordarsson, Armann Hoskuldsson: Iceland.Classic Geology in Europe 3. Harpenden 2002, p. 109.
  6. ^ W. Schutzbach: Iceland. Fire island in the polar circle. "Düsseldorf 1986. S. 142
  7. ^ W. Schutzbach: Iceland. Fire island in the polar circle. "Düsseldorf 1986. S. 147
  8. ↑ http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3001331 Tímatit DV, 6.6.2000; downloaded on March 22, 2018
  9. ↑ http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3001331 Tímatit DV, 6.6.2000; downloaded on March 22, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Þorvaldur Thoroddsen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Icelandic geologist and geographer
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1855
PLACE OF BIRTH Breiðafjörður
DATE OF DEATH September 28, 1921
Place of death Copenhagen