Eggert Ólafsson

Oddur Pálsson (University of Iceland)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

Born 1 Dec 1726
Died 30 May 1768

Places

Active in Iceland

Activities

Primary

Prose writer

Resources

Ólafsson's Works

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Eggert Ólafsson was an Icelandic naturalist, poet, and one of the pioneers of the Enlightenment movement in Iceland in the eighteenth century. He was born in December 1726 on the small island of Svefneyjar in Breiðafjörður and was brought up with his parents until he was ten years old when he went into fostering with his uncle Guðmundur Sigurðsson, the county magistrate in Snæfellsnes. Eggert was a promising student and had the support from his family to go for further education in Skálholt in the south of Iceland, one of the two bishoprics at the time. After finishing his final exams, Eggert went to Denmark to study natural science, philosophy, and Nordic studies at The University of Copenhagen. His final thesis concerned Iceland’s volcanic activity and formation. His theory…

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1075 words

Citation: Pálsson, Oddur. "Eggert Ólafsson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 August 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15192, accessed 16 October 2024.]