Jón Stefánsson (1862-1952) was an Icelandic scholar. He wrote many books, articles and contributions to periodicals. Jón was born in Grundarfjordur in 1862 and went on to study at

Reykjavík Grammar School Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. Reyk ...

and then the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

. At Copenhagen he produced a doctoral thesis (1891) on

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

. Shortly after he left Copenhagen for London where he was to spend much of the next 50 years. In 1897 he took the British artist and scholar W. G. Collingwood on a tour of Iceland. Jón and Collingwood co-authored ''A pilgrimage to the saga-steads of Iceland'' with illustrations by Collingwood. They also collaborated on a translation of one of the sagas. In October 1918 he married a widowed French Mauritian woman, Adrienne de Chazal. Shortly after their marriage they moved to Mauritius but Jon became ill and returned to Iceland and then back to London. In London he spent much of his time in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

writing but he was also an acquaintance of a wide range of scholars including

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

William Paton Ker William Paton Ker, FBA (30 August 1855 – 17 July 1923), was a Scottish literary scholar and essayist. Life Born in Glasgow in 1855, Ker studied at Glasgow Academy, the University of Glasgow, and Balliol College, Oxford. He was appoint ...

James Bryce James Bryce may refer to: * James Bryce (geologist) (1806–1877), Irish naturalist and geologist * James Bryce (footballer) (1884–1916), Scottish footballer * James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), British jurist, historian and politicia ...

and

Israel Gollancz Sir Israel Gollancz, FBA (13 July 1863 – 23 June 1930) was a scholar of early English literature and of Shakespeare. He was Professor of English Language and Literature at King's College, London, from 1903 to 1930. Life and career Gollancz wa ...

. In London he worked for a few years as a lecturer in Icelandic and Danish at King's College. During the early years of

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 ...

, following the occupation of Denmark, Jón, speaking as a key figure among Icelanders in the UK suggested to Churchill that Icelanders might welcome the occupation of Iceland by the British. In his old age Jón wrote an autobiography or memoir which was published in 1949. ''Úti í heimi: endurminningar'' (Out in the World).Jón Stefánsson. (1949). ''Úti í heimi: endurminningar''. Reykjavík: Bókfellsútgáfan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jon Stefansson 1862 births 1952 deaths Icelandic scholars Icelandic–English translators Academics of King's College London