Bjarni Pálsson (17 May 1719 - 8 September 1779) was an Icelandic medical doctor and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. On 18 March 1760 he was named the first Director of Health in Iceland.

Life

Bjarni was born in Upsum at

Eyjafjörður Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri. Physical geography The fjord is ...

to Páll Bjarnason and Sigríður Ásmundsdóttir. From 1752 to 1757 he traveled around the country with his friend

Eggert Ólafsson Eggert Ólafsson (1 December 1726 – 30 May 1768 (age 41)) was an Icelandic explorer, writer and conservator of the Icelandic language. He also worked to revive the Icelandic culture and economy. Background He was the son of a farmer from Svefn ...

on a grant from the Danish state. A book that they subsequently wrote about the trip was published in 1772 under the title ''Journey through Iceland''. It is a comprehensive representation of the country and its population at that time. The book was translated into German, French and English in the 19th century, but was not published until 1943 in Icelandic under the title Ferðabók Eggerts og Bjarna. Bjarni was appointed Iceland's first Director of Health on March 18 1760 by a royal decree. As such, he first lived in Bessastaðir and later in Nes on Seltjarnarnes, where he died in 1779 at the age of 60.

Life

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Further reading