1947 in Iceland

← 1946 1945 1944 1947 in Iceland → 1948 1949 1950
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s
See also:	Other events of 1947 Timeline of Icelandic history

The following lists events that happened in 1947 in Iceland .

Incumbents

• President – Sveinn Björnsson
• Prime Minister – Ólafur Thors, Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson

Events

• Iceland formally takes membership alongside Afghanistan and Sweden into the United Nations, after being admitted the year prior. ^[1]
• Icelandic government reserves fall below $1,000,000. ^[2]
• Herring catch industry experiences growth, at the same time that transportation costs worsen inflation. ^[3]

March

• 29 March - The Hekla eruption deposits tephra across South Iceland’s glaciers, influencing ablation rates and dynamics. ^[4] It continues to erupt uninterrupted for 13 months. ^[5]

May

• 22 May - The United Kingdom and Iceland sign an agreement for Icelandic herring oil and frozen white fish to be purchased from Iceland, to the United Kingdom. ^[6]

June

• 17 June - Icelandic airline Loftleiðir commences its first international flight, from Reykjavík to Copenhagen. ^[7]
• 20 June - The United Kingdom and Iceland sign an agreement to abolish visa requirements for their citizens. ^[8]

July

• 24 July - The National Icelandic Association Football team lost 2-4 to the Norwegian team in an international friendly, with an attendance of 10,000 fans at Melavollur. ^[9]

Births

Halldór Ásgrímsson, Prime Minister 2004–2006

• 20 February – Eggert Magnússon, businessman
• 4 March – Gunnar Hansen, actor (d. 2015)
• 29 June – Ágúst Guðmundsson, film director and screenwriter
• 24 August – Ólafur Haukur Símonarson, novelist and playwright
• 8 September – Halldór Ásgrímsson, politician (d. 2015)
• 25 September – Guðmundur Sigurjónsson, chess grandmaster
• 26 October – Gísli Guðjónsson, professor of forensic psychology
• 31 October – Gunnsteinn Skúlason, handball player. ^[10]

Deaths

• 12 September – Thor Philip Axel Jensen, Danish entrepreneur who settled in Iceland (b. 1863)
• 2 November - Steinthór Sigurdsson, director of Iceland’s State Research Institute (b. 1904) ^[11]

References

1. UN. General Assembly (9 November 1946). "Admission of Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden to membership in the United Nations". Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly during its resumed 1st session, Volume II, 23 October-15 December 1946 (pdf) (in English, Spanish, French, Russian, and Chinese). London and Flushing Meadow, N.Y. p. 61.
2. "ICELAND | CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov)". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2025-02-11.
3. "ICELAND | CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov)". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2025-02-11.
4. Kirkbride, Martin P.; Dugmore, Andrew J. (January 2003). "Glaciological response to distal tephra fallout from the 1947 eruption of Hekla, south Iceland". Journal of Glaciology. 49 (166): 420–428. doi:10.3189/172756503781830575. ISSN   0022-1430.
5. Bjorn (2017-05-03). "Historical Highlights". NAT. Retrieved 2025-02-11.
6. "Agreement (Minister of Food and Foreign Trade Commission of Iceland) - United Kingdom purchase of Icelandic Herring Oil and Frozen White Fish (Valid until date when deliveries under present Agreement are completed)".
7. Háskólabókasafn, Landsbókasafn Íslands-. "Tímarit.is". timarit.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2025-02-11.
8. "Exchange of Notes between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of Iceland regarding the Reciprocal Abolition of Visas".
9. "Iceland v Norway, 24 July 1947". 11v11.com. Retrieved 2025-02-11.
10. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gunnsteinn Skúlason". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
11. Thorarinsson, Sigurdur (1950-12-01). "The eruption of Mt. Hekla 1947 – 1948" . Bulletin Volcanologique. 10 (1): 157–168. doi:10.1007/BF02596085. ISSN   1432-0819.