Helgi Tómasson (25 September 1896 – 2 August 1958) was an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic physician.

Early life

Helgi was born on 25 September 25, 1896 in Vatnseyri,

Patreksfjörður Patreksfjörður (, ) is a fishing village in the Westfjords of Iceland. It was an important fishing and trading post until the Icelandic government's introduction of a fishing quota in 1990. Administratively, it is part of the municipality of Ve ...

to Dr. Tómas Helgason and Sigrid Lydia Thejle.

Career

He was head

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

at Kleppspítali

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

from 1929, when the new building came into use, to his death on August 2, 1958. From 1928 to 1936 he was the only practicing neuropsychiatrist in Iceland. He prohibited physical restraints (such as

straitjackets A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer's arms are in the sleeves, ...

, restraining straps and belts), and also prohibited his patients from undergoing

electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequ ...

and

lobotomy A lobotomy () or leucotomy is a discredited form of Neurosurgery, neurosurgical treatment for mental disorder, psychiatric disorder or neurological disorder (e.g. epilepsy, Depression in childhood and adolescence, depression) that involves sev ...

. In 1930 he was involved in a controversy, called the ''Big bomb'' (Icelandic: Stóra bomban) when he raised concerns that

Jónas Jónsson Jónas Jónsson (also known as Jónas frá Hriflu; May 1, 1885 – July 19, 1968) was an Icelandic educator and politician, and one of the most influential people in 20th-century Icelandic culture and politics. Initially an educator and writ ...

, the Icelandic Minister of Justice, was suffering from mental instability. The incident led to Helgi being fired from the Kleppspítali, although he later was reinstated as its head physician. From 1938 to 1958, he served as Chief Scout of the scouting organisation

Bandalag íslenskra skáta Bandalag íslenskra skáta (BIS, ''Icelandic Boy and Girl Scout Association'') is the national Scouting and Girl Guides, Guiding organization of Iceland. Scouting was founded in Iceland in 1912 and was among the earlier members of the World Organ ...

Personal life

He was the father of

Ragnhildur Helgadóttir Ragnhildur Helgadóttir (also Ragnhild Helgadóttir; 1930–2016) was an Icelandic politician. She was a member of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing, first from 1956 for the Independence Party. From 1961 to December 1962 she was the First ...

, former minister of the Independence Party.

References

1896 births 1958 deaths Helgi Tomasson Helgi Tomasson Helgi Tomasson {{scout-bio-stub