Pálmi Hannesson

Pálmi Hannesson (3 January 1898, in Skagafjarðarsýsla – 22 November 1956) was an Icelandic naturalist and rector of the Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík.

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Pálmi.

Pálmi was born a farmer's son; studied in Akureyri before proceeding to the Lærði Skólinn in Reykjavík; and on graduating from there proceeded to the University of Copenhagen to study natural history and geography. He concluded his education in 1926 with a Master's degree in zoology. As well as being prominent among Icelandic students at Copenhagen, he was also an alderman of the Studentergården and was noted for his fluency in Danish.[1]

In the words of Niels Nielsen,

Even as a child he felt attracted to the interior, desolate highlands, and it was one of his key experiences that he as a boy was allowed to embark on the adventure to take part in the autumn sheep collections whereby people searched the highlands on horseback up to glaciers. Throughout his life he retained his childhood love for the countryside and for horse trips, and he considered it his good fortune that his work fell at a time when motorization had not yet become influential in the practice of research on Iceland. Even as a student he began a systematic tour of the country, and over the years he became the foremost interpreter of Iceland's topography of our time, covering virtually all aspects of Iceland's geography and natural history.[2]

In 1930, 31 years old, Pálmi became rector of Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík, a key position in Icelandic cultural life of the time; he held the position until 1956. Nonetheless, he continued his scientific work, and was an important host to visiting scientists from Denmark. On 4 November 1947 The Royal Danish Geographical Society's Hans Egede Medal, and the same year he was appointed an honorary member of the Society.[3]

Pálmi was also a connoisseur of old and modern Icelandic literature.[4]

References
  1. Niels Nielsen, 'PÁLMI HANNESSON 3. januar 1898—22. november 1956', Geografisk Tidsskrift, 56 (1957), https://tidsskrift.dk/index.php/geografisktidsskrift/article/view/10556/20012.
  2. 'Allerede som barn følte han sig tiltrukket af det indre, øde højland, og det blev en af hans afgørende oplevelser, at han som stor dreng fik lov at opleve det eventyr at deltage i efterårets fåreindsamlinger, under hvilke man på hesteryg afsøgte højlandet helt op til jøklerne. Hele sit liv bevarede han sin barndoms kærlighed til indlandet og til hesterejserne, og han betragtede det som en lykke, at hans gerning faldt i en tid, hvor motoriseringen endnu ikke havde nået at præge islandsforskningen. Allerede som student begyndte han en systematisk gennemrejsning af landet, og med årene blev han vor tids fornemste kender af landets topografi og af så at sige alle sider af Islands geografi og naturhistorie', Niels Nielsen, 'PÁLMI HANNESSON 3. januar 1898—22. november 1956', Geografisk Tidsskrift, 56 (1957), https://tidsskrift.dk/index.php/geografisktidsskrift/article/view/10556/20012.
  3. Niels Nielsen, 'PÁLMI HANNESSON 3. januar 1898—22. november 1956', Geografisk Tidsskrift, 56 (1957), https://tidsskrift.dk/index.php/geografisktidsskrift/article/view/10556/20012.
  4. Niels Nielsen, 'PÁLMI HANNESSON 3. januar 1898—22. november 1956', Geografisk Tidsskrift, 56 (1957), https://tidsskrift.dk/index.php/geografisktidsskrift/article/view/10556/20012.
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