Björn M. Ólsen

Björn Magnússon Ólsen (14 July 1850 – 16 January 1919) was an Icelandic scholar and politician. He was a member of the Alþingi, the first rector of the University of Iceland, and a professor of Icelandic language and culture there.

Björn M. Ólsen was born in the farming community of Þingeyrar in Austur-Húnavatnssýsla. His father, Magnús R. Ólsen (1810–1860), represented the district in the Alþingi; his mother was Ingunn Jónsdóttir Ólsen (1817–1897). He finished at the Reykjavík School in 1869, and after a break in his studies due to poor health went to Copenhagen in 1872 and in spring 1877 earned his master's degree in language and history from the University of Copenhagen. In 1878 he made a study trip to Italy and Greece with the help of public funds. He later earned a doctorate from the University of Copenhagen, in 1883 with a thesis on the runes.

In 1879 he became an adjunct teacher at the Reykjavík School; in summer 1895 he became rector there. In spring 1904 he retired from that job and was at the same time given the title of professor; he then began to devote his time primarily to studying Icelandic literature and history. That was the year Iceland achieved home rule, and it is likely that increasing national scholarship in these areas seemed like a duty.

He was a member of the Alþingi under the King of Denmark from 1905 to 1908, representing the Home Rule Party in the government of Hannes Hafstein. When the University of Iceland was founded in 1911 he became Professor of Icelandic there, and also served as the first rector, from 1911 to 1912. He was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Christiania in 1911 and by the University of Iceland on 17 June 1918. He was president of the Icelandic Literary Society in 1894–1900 and 1909–1918; the Reykjavík and Copenhagen branches were combined in Iceland during his tenure. From 1895 to 1919 he was on the distribution committee for the Jón Sigurðsson bequest. He was an honorary member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and other learned societies.

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