Jón Ólafsson (20 March 1850 – 11 July 1916) was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic editor,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

. He was the half-brother of Páll Ólafsson. He became a journalist in Iceland in 1868, but due to disobedience to the authorities, he had to emigrate to North America in 1872. There, a lawyer convinced him that it would be a good idea for people from Iceland to immigrate into

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

, especially to the Island of Kodiak. Jón made a petition to President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

and met with him, but neither that nor the bill to Congress lead to success, as the government of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

had in the meanwhile offered land around

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

to immigrants from Iceland. Jón wrote a book on his ideas for a glorious Icelandic

detailing his high hopes.

References

External links

* * Jon Olafsson Jon Olafsson Jon Olafsson Olafsson, Jon Olafsson, Jon People from Fáskrúðsfjörður {{Iceland-journalist-stub