Magnus Magnusson (writer)

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Magnus Magnusson (born October 12, 1929 in Reykjavík , Iceland ; † January 7, 2007 in Balmore , Dunbartonshire , Scotland in the United Kingdom ) was an Icelandic-British television presenter , journalist , translator , writer and historian . Magnusson also achieved a high profile through his 25 years of host and moderator on the British quiz show Mastermind on BBC Two .

Life

Magnusson grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland , where his father was the Icelandic consul. According to the tradition of the Icelandic naming , it should actually have been called Magnús Sigursteinsson . However, his family was based on their Scottish ancestors when choosing his first name Magnus and he kept his father's surname Magnusson .

He went to school at Edinburgh Academy and then graduated from Jesus College , Oxford . He then worked as a journalist for the Scottish Daily Express and The Scotsman . From 1967 he worked as a freelancer and at the time worked for the BBC , where he acted as a presenter for programs on history and archeology as well as news broadcasts. He was Rector at the University of Edinburgh from 1975 to 1978 and later as Chancellor at Glasgow Caledonian University . He was also a director of Scottish Natural Heritage , a government organization that deals with environmental issues in Scotland.

Magnusson presented the long-running British television quiz show Mastermind as a presenter from 1972 to 1997 . Magnusson's trademark on the TV show Mastermind was the saying: "I've started, so I'll finish." (I started, so I'll finish.) Which was taken over by his successor, John Humphrys . This saying always came when the signal went off at the end of the counseling time for a candidate before the final question was fully spoken. Magnusson later had a one-time guest appearance on Mastermind as himself on the children's series Dizzy Heights .

He translated several books from the Icelandic language and from Norrön into English and vice versa. These include several works by the writer and Nobel Prize winner in literature, Halldór Laxness , and a number of Icelandic sagas such as: Njal Saga (1960), Vinland Sagas (1965), King Harald's Saga (1966) and the Laxdæla saga (1969). He made his last known translation together with Hermann Pálsson . Magnusson was the author of the popular history book series The Vikings (The Vikings , expanded 2000 edition). He also translated three of these books into Norwegian .

Together with the singer Björk , Magnusson was one of the most famous Icelanders in Great Britain . His eldest daughter Sally Magnusson is also a presenter in Scotland. Magnusson was diagnosed with cancer in October 2006 and died on January 7, 2007 of complications from the disease.

Literature (selection)

  • Fakers, Forgers and Phoneys: Famous Scams and Scamps 2005, ISBN 978-1-84596-190-9
  • Scotland: The Story of a Nation 2000, ISBN 978-0-00-653191-3
  • The Vikings 1980, ISBN 978-0-7524-2699-0
  • Iceland Saga 2005, ISBN 978-0-7524-3342-4
  • Lindisfarne 2004, ISBN 978-0-7524-3227-4
  • Keeping Your Words: An Anthology of Quotations 2005, ISBN 978-0-340-86264-3
  • Scotland Since Prehistory: Natural Change and Human Impact 1993, ISBN 978-1-898218-03-6
  • I've Started So I'll Finish 1998, ISBN 978-0-7515-2585-4
  • Viking Expansion Westwards 1973, ISBN 978-0-8098-3529-4
  • BC The Archeology of the Bible Lands 1977, ISBN 978-0-671-24010-3
  • The Clacken and the Slate 1974, ISBN 0-00-411170-2
  • Fakers, Forgers and Phoneys: Famous Scams and Scamps , 2006
  • Iceland Saga , 2005
  • Keeping Your Words: An Anthology of Quotations , 2005
  • Lindisfarne , 2004
  • Keeping My Words , 2004
  • The Vikings , 2003 - flere tidligere utgaver. - Vikings! . Hjemmet, 1980. ISBN 82-7001-718-3
  • Contested Mountains: Nature, Development and Environment in the Cairngorms Region of Scotland, 1880–1980 , with Robert A. Lambert, 2001
  • Scotland: The Story of a Nation , 2001
  • Magnus Magnusson's Quiz Book , 2000
  • I've Started So I'll Finish , 1997
  • Rum: Nature's Island , with Iain Sarjeant and Martin Howells, 1997
  • Voyage of «Odin's Raven» , together with Michael Ingram, 1997
  • Icelandic Journals: Journals of Travel in Iceland 1871 and 1873 together with Fiona MacCarthy and William Morris, 1996
  • The Return of Cultural Treasures , together with Jeanette Greenfield, 1996
  • Scottish Plants for Scottish Gardens , with Jill Hamilton and Jill Duchess of Hamilton, 1996
  • Scotland Since Prehistory: Natural Change and Human Impact , together with TC Smout, 1993
  • Landlord or Tenant ?: A View of Irish History , 1978
  • Liv og tro i vikingtiden Tiden forlag, 1978 ISBN 82-10-01432-3
  • BC, the Archeology of the Bible Lands , 1975
  • Viking Expansion Westwards (Bodley Head Archeology) , 1973 - Funn og fakta om vikinger i vesterveg (Luther, 1975) ISBN 82-531-4064-9
  • Introducing Archeology (Bodley Head Archeology) , with Martin Simmons, 1972

Filmography

  • 1966–1979: Chronicle (script for some episodes)
  • 1968: Jackanory (TV series)
  • 1975: The extras
  • 1978: Curriculee Curricula (TV movie)
  • 1997: Life and Death on Long Island (Love and Death on Long Island)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Magnus Magnusson . wireimage.de (English) accessed on April 2, 2013
  2. ↑ Dennis Barker: Necrology in The Guardian at guardian.co.uk , January 9, 2007, accessed April 2, 2013
  3. ↑ Magnus Magnusson - Presenter of the BBC quiz show 'Mastermind' who was himself a writer of real scholarship on independent.co.uk , January 9, 2007, accessed April 2, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Magnusson, Magnus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Magnússon, Magnús (different spelling); Magnús Sigursteinsson (Icelandic form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Icelandic writer and presenter
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Reykjavík , Iceland
DATE OF DEATH January 7, 2007
Place of death Balmore , Dunbartonshire, United Kingdom