Since at least 1942, Icelandic students have been attending the University of Illinois. Early Icelandic Illini have included an ambassador, chemical engineers, chemists, a choral director, an economist, a music instructor, university faculty and administrators too.

Read on to learn about early Icelandic Illini!

Icelandic Cultures on Campus

During the time of the Kingdom of Iceland (1918-1944), following Denmark’s recognition of Iceland’s sovereignty on December 1, 1918, although unrelated, University ties with Iceland increased over time. At least as early as 1919, at the University Library, an Icelandic library collection was developing with the arrival of Icelandic language newspapers. Just five years later, in 1924, Alpha Beta Tau‘s off campus Christmas dance was organized around the theme of “Iceland”. Hosted at the Champaign Country Club, the rooms were decorated to include decorative ice and a false ceiling featuring falling snow. That same year, the Champaign Methodist Church’s Ladies Aid Society’s annual bazaar also chose the them of “Iceland”.

Concurrently, under faculty members like Mr. George T. Flom (Scandinavian Professor 1909-1939) the Scandinavian program was already developing (with scholarship support for students) and this supported the study of Nordic cultures like Iceland. [1] In 1899, there was one of the earliest Scandinavian culture events on campus. By 1904, a Scandinavian Club was already created. Other early University faculty supported the study of Iceland too, including Professor Clarence V. Boyer (English 1911- 1926) offered public lectures like “Tales from Iceland” (1923). Over time, distinguished Icelandic scholars visited campus too. For example, in 1966, Head of Iceland’s National Manuscript Institute Mr. Einar Olafur Sveinsson came to campus to give a talk “The Edda and Homer” in the Law Building. This would be the same law building where local Icelandic historian and Legal Counsel and Faculty member Mr. Johnson taught law for nearly twenty years too.

Faculty

After serving as attorney general then a supreme court justice Mr. Sveinbjörn Johnson was born in Iceland; but, at the age of four, he emigrated with his family to North Dakota in 1887, according to a student interview. [2] Mr. Johnson completed all of his education in North Dakota, (including a student thesis on Jefferson Davis) before becoming the North Dakota Attorney General (1921) and later a North Dakota Supreme Court Justice (1922). Three years later, Mr. Johnson resigned to join the University of Illinois (Legal Counsel 1926-1944; Law Professor 1926-1944).  While he was at the University, Mr. Johnson wrote at least two publications concerning Northern Europe including Pioneers of Freedom: An Account of the Icelanders and the Icelandic Free State, 874-1262 in 1930 and Old Norse and Ancient Greek Ideals in 1938. In 1944, Mr. Johnson unsuccessfully ran for the office of Illinois Attorney General and he resigned from the University during that year too. Mr. Johnson completed his career in private practice in Chicago.

While Mr. Johnson was affiliated with the University, records describe both his service as well as his ties to Iceland. In 1929, Mr. Johnson was officially commissioned as one of five U.S. representatives for the 1000th anniversary of the national parliament of Iceland. In fact, Mr. Johnson’s 1930 book was written for the 1000th anniversary of “political and civil liberty” in Iceland, he explained in a Daily Illini interview. Mrs. Johnson was active in community life too. Before her trip to the Iceland in 1930, Mrs. Johnson gave an off campus talk too, titled “The Millennium in Iceland in 1930”. After returning from the trip, Mr. Johnson recalled his trip in another Daily Illini interview. Above all, the DI reported, Mr. Johnson was impressed with the central role of agricultural and co-operative industries in the Icelandic economy. Further, Mr. Johnson emphasized the historic significance of role of parliamentary government in Iceland while many neighboring countries had long histories of consolidating political authority. In another interview, Mr. Johnson described the impressive local hospitality too. Later that year, he was invited to give the talk to many local organizations including the Kiwanis (1930), Social Science Club (1932), the Art Club (1932), and the Chaperon’s Club (1934). Mr. Johnson was a member of the campus-based Scandinavian organization Heimskringla (Record Series 48/4/9). He returned to Iceland for a family trip and tour of Northern Europe in 1936. During the trip, Mr. Johnson wrote to campus to share his observations. Chief among them, Mr. Johnson was impressed by the role of national government in regulating the economy of Norway. Following the publication of his book Pioneers of Freedom in 1938, the King of Denmark, Christian X, accorded Mr. Johnson the Knight of the Order of the Falcon, in recognition for his writings and service to the Icelandic peoples.

Alumni

At least one alumni served in the U.S. military in Iceland during World War II. One year after graduation, Mr. John L. Lynch (1940), (10th infantry in the 5th Division in Iceland) served from 1941 until 1943. Mr. Lynch’s account can be read in his memoirs All of It I Knew, Some of It I Saw, Part of It I Was…the Story of John L. Lynch, the Memoirs of One of General Patton’s…Commandos (found in Record Series 26/20/81).

Students

Since just two years before the national referendum established the Republic of Iceland on June 17, 1944, the earliest Icelandic students may have been sent abroad to study safely in Urbana-Champaign during World War II. Since at least 1967, later student enrollment has continued through to today with consistent enrollment figures almost every year. [3] Icelandic Illini have studied everything from engineering, to sciences, to social sciences, to the performing arts, and of course this includes the humanities too.

Ms. Inge Elly Schepler Eiriksson (Chemistry, 1944) came to the United States aboard a convoy, during World War II fighting in 1942. [4] Ms. Eiriksson’s family decided that an education in the U.S. would keep her safe from the War. Ms. Eiriksson was active in Westaire and the multicultural organization Cosmopolitan Club (Record Series 41/64/8). In 1943, Ms. Eiriksson, Mr. Asgiersson, and a third student received free tickets to see the local screening of “I Married a Witch” (1942). After graduation, Ms. Eiriksson married, cofounded a business, and she remained in the United States for the remainder of her career.

Mr. Haraldur Asgiersson (B.S. Chemical Engineering, 1944; M.S. Chemical Engineering, 1945) also arrived on campus during World War II. [5] Mr. Asgiersson was a member of organizations like Cosmopolitan Club and the national honorary society for ceramic engineers Keramos. In 1942 and in 1943, he may have been interviewed by The Daily Illini to discuss Christmas in Iceland too. Mr. Asgiersson was an involved student leader. At least by his junior year, in 1943, he was the Keramos secretary-treasurer and the Cosmopolitan Club sergeant-in-arms. During his senior year, he even became president of Cosmopolitan Club.

Mr. Hjalti Einursson (B.S. Chemical Engineering, 1951) came to campus after the war. [6] Like many Icelandic Illini, he was involved in the Cosmopolitan Club too. Mr. Einursson joined the club in 1948 and by 1949 he was elected club secretary. After graduation, Mr. Einursson completed a Masters degree at Oregon State University, before becoming an engineer at the Icelandic Fis­heries Rese­arch Institu­te in 1954. Mr. Einursson continued a long, distinguished career in Icelandic fisheries.

Student life records can tell us about student experiences and personalities on campus, like in 1948, when Mr. Einursson was interviewed by a student journalist. During the interview, Mr. Einursson was asked to explain Icelandic culture and language. As he explained, Icelandic surnames are derived from the first name of the child’s father. Therefore, Mr. Einursson’s father’s first name is Einur. The interview turned humorous, when the reporter asked if there was ice in Iceland. Mr. Einursson explained that while there is only ice during the winter and on mountain tops his country’s name is no more misleading than American hamburgers not having ham or hot dogs not including dogs.

Mr. Tómas Ármann Tómasson (Economics, 1952) began a long service in diplomacy, following an education in economics at Illinois and participation in foreign student events on campus through Cosmopolitan Club. [7] During his junior year, in 1951, he officially joined Cosmopolitan Club. After graduation, Mr. Tómasson completed a Masters degree at Columbia University, before entering the Icelandic Foreign Service in 1954. Select terms of service included the Soviet Union, Belgium, France, and the United States. Like Mr. Johnson before him, Mr. Tómasson was honored with the Order of the Falcon. During his career, Mr. Tómasson received honors from France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Sweden.

Ms. Thorgerdurr Ingolfsdotter (1965-1966) might have been the first Icelandic music student. [8] She sang in the 1965 International Fair too. The Daily Illini interviewed her twice (April 1966) and (October 1966). In April, she was the first interview in a series of interviews to report how foreign students feel about the University and the community. Ms. Ingolfsdotter came to the U.S. assuming that academic studies would be easier and that some women would be heavy makeup users. To her surprise, she told the student reporter, academics were just as difficult in the U.S. as in Europe while she did meet some women who were often wearing a lot of makeup. In both interviews, Ms. Ingolfsdotter was embarrassed that upon arrival, she had mistakenly put her postcards in the wrong mailbox opens–possibly creating a cache of old Iceland-bound postcards across town to be discovered by another generation. Finally, her greatest surprise might have been how much colder U.S. winters could be when compared with her native Iceland.

Ms. Thuridur Johanna Kristjansdottir (B.S. Education, 1968; Education EdM, 1969; Education PhD, 1971) . [9] Ms. Kristjansdottir began her studies in Iceland, then continued her studies in Denmark, England, and France, before coming to Illinois. Through the Fulbright program, Ms. Kristjansdottir came to Illinois, where she completed another three degrees and she studied assessment in Education. After graduation, she returned to a long career as a professor and administrator in Iceland.

Are you an Icelandic Illini? Do you know someone who is? We’d like to hear from you! Please send us a message or leave a comment below. We want to include you and your story, as we celebrate the first 150 years of the University of Illinois.

Happy First 150 everyone!

References

[1] For more information on the history of the German Department and the Scandinavian program at Illinois, please see: James M. McGlathery’s German and Scandinavian at Illinois (found in Record Series 15/12/811).

[2] “Sveinbjorn Johnson, Justice of the Supreme Court 1923-1926“, ndcourts.gov.

[3] “UIUC Student Enrollment“, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Management Information.

[4] “Inge Elly Schepler Eiriksson Johnson | Passages“, pnwlocalnews.com, 4 September 2009. (Icelandic).

[5] “Haraldur Ásgeirsson“, mbl.is, 20 November 2009. (Icelandic).

[6] “And­lát: Hjalti Ein­ars­son“, mbl.is, 3 May 2013. (Icelandic).

[7] “Tómas Á. Tómasson” The International Who’s Who, 2004, pages 1685-1686.

[8] “Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir“, ismus.is, 5 November 2013. (Icelandic).

[9] “Þuríður J. Kristjánsdóttir prófessor 85 ára“, Safnahús Borgarfjarðar, 30 April 2012. (Icelandic). For a detailed biography and bibliography, please see: “Þuríður J. Kristjánsdóttir”, notendur.hi.is. (Icelandic).