Sigríður Tómasdóttir (1871–1957) 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 ...

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

whose activism helped preserve Gullfoss waterfalls, protecting it from industrialization. She is widely seen as Iceland's first environmentalist and is memorialized on a sculpture near Gullfoss.Neil Parmar
"The Badass Woman Who 'Saved' this Icelandic Treasure,"
'' Ozy'', May 23, 2017.

Early life

Sigríður was born in Brattholt in 1874 and grew up on her family's sheep farm. She did not receive any official education but was well read and artistic. She and her sisters would act as guides for visitors of the waterfalls."Sigridur Tomasdottir,"Nordic Adventure Travel website
retrieved November 27, 2018.

Activism

In 1907, landowners including Sigríður's father, Tómas Tómasson, signed a deal to allow the construction of a

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

across the Hvítá River that would result in the submergence of Gulfoss. Upset by the deal, she took legal action against the development and staged several protests. She made numerous treks of 120 kilometers to

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, by some accounts on foot, to meet with government officials and later threatened to throw herself in the waterfalls."Gullfoss, the story behind Iceland's most famous waterfall,"Gullfoss.org
retrieved November 27, 2018. She was represented legally by

Sveinn Björnsson Sveinn Björnsson (; 27 February 1881 – 25 January 1952) was the first president of Iceland, serving from 1944 to 1952. Background, education and legal career Sveinn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the son of Björn Jónsson (editor and ...

, who later became Iceland's first president. Sigríður's efforts ultimately failed with the legal system but gained positive public attention. The lease contracts later were canceled and the hydroelectric project was never constructed. Gullfoss and the surrounding area was eventually sold to the Icelandic government and was made a permanent conservation site in 1979.Linda Harris Sittig
"Sigridur Tomasdottir, Steward of the Land,"StrongWomenInHistory.com/
May 28, 2012.

Legacy

Sigríður died in 1957 and was buried in the Haukadalur cemetery. The sculptor

Ríkarður Jónsson Ríkarður Jónsson (20 September 1888 – 17 January 1977) was an Icelandic sculptor. Early training Ríkarður was born in the Icelandic east coast village of Djúpivogur. His mother was Ólöf Finnsdóttir and his father was Jón Þóra ...

made a memorial to Tómasdóttir that stands near Gulfoss.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tómasdóttir, Sigríður 1871 births 1957 deaths Sigrídur Tomasdottir Sigridur Tomasdottir Sigridur Tomasdottir Sigrídur Tomasdottir