Þorvaldur Thoroddsen (6 June 1855 – 28 September 1921) was an Icelandic

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

and

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

Biography

Þorvaldur was the son of the writer Jón Thoroddsen. He graduated from the Learned School of Reykjavík in 1875 and then immediately proceeded to Copenhagen to further his studies. He studied natural history and

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

but also nourished a strong interest in

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

; this was amplified in 1876 when he served as a guide for the geologist Johannes Frederik Johnstrup in an expedition to Iceland to study

Askja Askja () is an active volcano situated in a remote part of the central highlands of Iceland. The name Askja refers to a complex of nested calderas within the surrounding Dyngjufjöll mountains, which rise to , ''askja'' meaning ''box'' or '' ...

and the volcanoes at

Mývatn () is a shallow lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano. It has a high amount of biological activity. The lake and the surrounding wetlands provides a habitat for a number of waterbirds, e ...

. Unable to complete his studies for financial reasons Þorvaldur accepted a teaching placement at Möðruvellir in the north of Iceland in 1880 and worked there until 1885 when he became an adjunct at the Learned School. In 1887 he married Þóra, daughter of bishop

Pétur Pétursson Guðlaugur ''Pétur'' Pétursson (born 27 June 1959 in Akranes) is a retired Icelandic footballer who was active as a forward. Club career Pétur made his professional debut at ÍA and also played for Feyenoord Rotterdam, RSC Anderlecht (35 ...

. They had one child, Sigríður (1888–1903). Þóra died in 1917.Steindór J. Erlingsson, page 1 (online edition). In 1899, Þorvaldur resigned his position at the Learned School. The

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (" thing fields" or "assemb ...

granted him a generous pension which enabled him to live in Copenhagen and work on research and writing. In 1894, he was granted an honorary doctoral degree from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

and in 1902 he was named Professor.

Work

During his expedition with Johnstrup, Þorvaldur was stricken by the nature of Iceland's large uninhabited areas. He resolved to investigate the nature of the island, especially its geology which up till then had been sparsely mapped and studied. From 1881 to 1898 he undertook expeditions to gather data. During his work, Þorvaldur ran into the limitations of the 1848 map of Iceland by

Björn Gunnlaugsson Björn Gunnlaugsson (25 September 1788 – 17 March 1876)Benedikz, p. 568ff. was an Icelandic mathematician and cartographer. For the Icelandic Literary Society, he surveyed the country from 1831 to 1843. The results of his work were publi ...

. Björn had concentrated his precise measurements on the inhabited areas and a significant amount of work remained to be done in the central highlands. In 1901 Þorvaldur published a geological map of Iceland, where he incorporated his corrections to Björn Gunnlaugsson's map. During the time he lived in Copenhagen, Þorvaldur wrote a number of books and articles on geology and geography, especially as regards Iceland. Initially he was a liberal evolutionist but his ideas on biology and politics changed greatly during his career and later in life he can be described as a very conservative anti-evolutionist. He was awarded the

Charles P. Daly Medal The Charles P. Daly Medal is awarded to individuals by the American Geographical Society (AGS) "for valuable or distinguished geographical services or labors." The medal was established in 1902. This medal was originally designed by Victor D. Bren ...

by the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

in 1906. He died in Copenhagen, aged 66.

Notes

References

* Hintze, V.
Thoroddsen, Thorvaldur
' entry in C. F. Bricka (ed.): '' Dansk biografisk lexikon: tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537–1814''; Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1887–1905; vol. XVII (1903), pp 283-5. URL last accessed 2007-10-19. * Jökull Sævarsson (2004). ''Iceland on maps''. Based on "Haraldur Sigurðsson: Ísland á landabréfum. Nokkrir drættir. Kortasafn Háskóla Íslands. Reykjavík 1982, p. 7-15. Slightly abbreviated, altered and translated into English." URL last accessed 2007-10-19. * Steindór J. Erlingsson (2001).
Hugmyndaheimur Þorvalds Thoroddsens 1872-1911
', in ''Skírnir'' 175, pp. 354–388. URL last accessed 2007-10-19. *
Dr. Þorvaldur Thoroddsen
'. Skólavefurinn 2006. URL last accessed 2007-10-19.

External links

* Thorvaldur Thoroddsen Thorvaldur Thoroddsen Icelandic botanists 1855 births 1921 deaths {{Iceland-bio-stub