Þór Whitehead (Thor Whitehead) (born 19 August 1943) is 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 historian. He is currently a professor at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern co ...

. Thor has written extensively on the history of

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. His best known work is the multi-volume series ''Ísland í síðari heimsstyrjöld'' (Iceland in the Second World War). He has also written about other episodes in

Icelandic history The recorded history of Iceland began with the settlement by Viking explorers and the people they enslaved from Western Europe, particularly in modern-day Norway and the British Isles, in the late ninth century. Iceland was still uninhabited ...

, such as the Icelandic government's rejection of

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish refugees during the war, and the

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

policies of banning black soldiers from the American-garrisoned

Naval Air Station Keflavik Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) was a United States Navy air station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006 and its faci ...

Education

Thor received a BA degree from the University of Iceland, an MA from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

and his

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Academic career

* Research lecturer, University of Iceland, 1978–1981 * Professor of history, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland, 1981- * Director, Institute of History, University of Iceland, 1983–1985 * Fulbright Research Fellow and Visiting Scholar, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, United States, 1986 * Humboldt Fellow, Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt der Bundeswehr, Freiburg, Germany, 1986–1988 * Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Iceland, 1989–1991 * Visiting Research Professor, Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier III, Montpellier, France, 1992–1993 * Chairman, Department of History, 1994–1995 * Humboldt Fellow, Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt der Bundeswehr, Freiburg, Germany, 1996–1997 * Visiting Research Professor, Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier III, Montpellier, France, 2002–2003, 2005–2006, * Chairman, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Iceland 2006–2007

Publications

* * The Icelandic Literary Prize, 1995. * * * The Icelandic Booksellers Prize, 2002.

Sources

* Who is Who in the World 2009.

External links

Interview in the Reykjavik Grapevine

Þór Whitehead's website at the University of Iceland
1943 births Living people Thor Whitehead University of Georgia alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Thor Whitehead Thor Whitehead {{Iceland-historian-stub