Jón Sigurðsson
Encyclopedia
Jón Sigurðsson was the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement
Icelandic nationalism
Þjóðernishyggja is the Icelandic term for nationalism; nationmindedness is a rough translation of the term. Its use was instrumental in the Icelandic movement for independence from Denmark, led by independence hero Jón Sigurðsson....
.
Born at Hrafnseyri, near Arnarfjörður
Arnarfjörður
Arnarfjörður is a large fjord in the Westfjords region of Iceland. It is thirty kilometres long and five to ten kilometres wide.-External links:*...
in the Westfjords area of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, he was the son of a pastor, Sigurður Jónsson. He moved to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, in 1833 to study grammar and history at the university there. Subsequently Jón began to work at the Arnamagnæan Collection
Arnamagnæan Collection
The Arnamagnæan Institute is a teaching and research institute established in 1956 to further the study of the manuscripts in the Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection, the collection bequeathed by the Icelandic scholar and antiquarian Árni Magnússon to the University of Copenhagen in 1730.On July 1,...
which was then the home of the manuscripts of the Icelandic sagas. He became an expert on the sagas and on Icelandic history. He never graduated from university, as Icelandic politics grew to consume all his time.
Ísafjörður
Ísafjörður is a town in the north west of Iceland, seat of Ísafjarðarbær municipality.The town draws its name from the fjord and the fjord was given its name simultaneously to the island...
county. He managed to hold on to this seat through his whole life although he didn't come to all sessions of the Althing. In all, he came to 13 of the 17 sessions that were held in his lifetime. He also came to the Þjóðfundur
National Assembly (Iceland)
- National Assembly of 1851 :The National Assembly of 1851 was a constitutional convention called to decide the political status of Iceland. The assembly was called in 1848, in the liberal atmosphere following the Spring of Nations...
(National meeting) in 1851. There he led the Icelanders in their resistance to the adoption of Denmark's Grundlov from 1849 in Iceland. The Grundlov was never formally adopted in Iceland and after years of struggle the Danish Government granted Iceland a limited constitution in 1874 giving autonomy in internal affairs. Until then the Althing had only been an advisory body to the Danish government and king.
Jón's way of communicating with the Icelandic nation from Denmark where he lived was to publish an annual magazine called Ný félagsrit (New Association Writings). It was published almost every year from 1841 to 1873 with Jón always being the main contributor and financial backer.
The home of Jón and Ingibjörg in Copenhagen became a centre for all Icelanders in the city. They had no children except for one foster-son who was Jón's nephew. However, a contemporary remarked that "all Icelanders are their children".
His birthday, June 17, was chosen as Iceland's National Holiday
Icelandic National Day
Icelandic National Day , 17 June, is a holiday in Iceland and celebrates the day in 1944 that The Republic of Iceland was formed....
to recognize his efforts toward Icelandic independence, and a picture of Jón graces the 500 Icelandic Krona
Icelandic króna
The króna is the currency of Iceland. The króna is technically subdivided into 100 aurar , but in practice this subdivision is no longer used....
banknote.
He is often referred to as President ("Jón forseti") by Icelanders. The main reason for this is that since 1851 he served as President of the Copenhagen Department of Hið íslenska bókmenntafélag (the Icelandic Literature Society). He was also the president of Althing several times, for the first time in 1849. He is currently pictured on Iceland's 500 krónur
Icelandic króna
The króna is the currency of Iceland. The króna is technically subdivided into 100 aurar , but in practice this subdivision is no longer used....
bill, and has been honoured on Icelandic postage stamps on the centenaries of his birth and death, the 150th anniversary of his birth, and on the creation of the Republic of Iceland (on his 133rd birthday).
The apartment which Jón and Ingibjörg rented in Copenhagen from 1852 is called Jónshús and has been the property of the Icelandic government since 1967. It serves as a cultural center for Icelanders in Denmark, and as housing for academics on sabbatical.