Pálmi Hannesson (3 January 1898, in

Skagafjarðarsýsla Iceland was historically divided into 23 counties known as ''sýslur'' (), and 23 independent towns known as ''kaupstaðir'' (). Iceland is now split up between 24 sýslumenn (magistrates) that are the highest authority over the local police ( ...

– 22 November 1956) was an Icelandic naturalist and rector of the

Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR; official name in English: Reykjavik Junior College) is a junior college in Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík. The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains o ...

. Pálmi was born a farmer's son; studied in

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed ...

before proceeding to the Lærði Skólinn in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

; and on graduating from there proceeded to the

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

to study natural history and geography. He concluded his education in 1926 with a Master's degree in zoology. As well as being prominent among Icelandic students at Copenhagen, he was also an alderman of the Studentergården and was noted for his fluency in Danish. In the words of Niels Nielsen,

Even as a child he felt attracted to the interior, desolate
highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...
, and it was one of his key experiences that he as a boy was allowed to embark on the adventure to take part in the autumn sheep collections whereby people searched the highlands on horseback up to glaciers. Throughout his life he retained his childhood love for the countryside and for horse trips, and he considered it his good fortune that his work fell at a time when motorization had not yet become influential in the practice of research on Iceland. Even as a student he began a systematic tour of the country, and over the years he became the foremost interpreter of Iceland's topography of our time, covering virtually all aspects of Iceland's geography and natural history.

In 1930, 31 years old, Pálmi became rector of

, a key position in Icelandic cultural life of the time; he held the position until 1956. Nonetheless, he continued his scientific work, and was an important host to visiting scientists from Denmark. On 4 November 1947 The

Royal Danish Geographical Society The Royal Danish Geographical Society (RDGS, da, Det Kongelige Danske Geografiske Selskab) is a scientific society aimed at furthering the knowledge of the Earth and its inhabitants and to disseminate interest in the science of geography. It was ...

Hans Egede Medal The Hans Egede medal is awarded by the Royal Danish Geographical Society for outstanding services to geography, "principally for geographical studies and research in the Polar lands." It was instituted in 1916 and named after Hans Egede, a Danish ...

, and the same year he was appointed an honorary member of the Society. Pálmi was also a connoisseur of old and modern Icelandic literature.Niels Nielsen, 'PÁLMI HANNESSON 3. januar 1898—22. november 1956', ''Geografisk Tidsskrift'', 56 (1957), https://tidsskrift.dk/index.php/geografisktidsskrift/article/view/10556/20012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmi Hannesson 1898 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Icelandic people University of Copenhagen alumni Topographers Icelandic literature 20th-century cartographers