Lögberg-Heimskringla - 19.06.1975, Blaðsíða 2

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LÖGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA, FIMMTUDAGINN 19. JÚNÍ 1975
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Dr. RTCHARD BECK:
A SIGNIFICANT ADDITION TO ICELAND
REVIEW BOOKS
The latest volumé publish
ed in the important and at-
trctive Iceland Review Boo-
ks series is Akureyri and the
Picturesque North, in every
respect a welcome and note-
worthy addition to the seri-
es
The well-known poet
Kristján frá Diúpalæk has
written an introduction enti-
tled “From poetic vision to
present day,” which is both
richly poetic as well as hist-
orically and geographicalli
impressive in its presentati-
on.
The author traces the hist
ory of the Eyjafjord-district
from the time of the first
settler Helgi magri (Helgi
the Lean) down to present-
day Akureyri. It is both a
co'orful and eventful history
which is here vividly por-
trayed.
“Place of Note,” and there
are many, receive due at-
tention. Rightly referred to
as “The Garden City”, Akur
eyri is effectively and fond-
ly described- Linked to that
part of the introduction are
highly informative sections
on “Culture and Welfare”
and “Social Movements”.
The significance af Akur-
eyri in the literary history
of Iceland is duly noted in
the section on “Men of Lett-
ers”, dealing specially, and
rightfuFy, with the greatest
literary figures concerned:
Matthías Jochumsson, Jón
Sveinsson (Nonni) and Dav-
ið Stefánsson frá Fagra-
skógi.
Then there are concise,
and at the same time very
informative sections, on “Ak
ureyri Today” and “The
Eyiafjord Valley”. The intro
duction closes on a highly
poetic note ‘Winter is Beauti
ful Too’, which strikes a re-
soonsive chord in the heart
of anyone of us who has ex-
perienced such a winter.
Added to the introduction
are some valuable notes by
May and Hallberg Hall-
mundsson who have translat
ed the book into English and
whose translation reads ex-
ceedingly well- Further, the
introduction includes some
old and historically valuable
pictures of Akureyri.
The second part of the vol
ume, and the most extensive
consists of 38 colored photo-
graphs of present-day Akur-
eyri, effectively showing its
various faces and in the dif-
ferent seasonal garbs.
The third part of the book
“In the bosom of Nature”,
deals ,in colored photo-
graphs, with the various
communities within the
Evjafjord-district and the im
pressive scenery of North-
ern Iceland.
All in all the book includ-
es 74 colored photographs by
16 photographers. It is both
a rich and memorable pres-
entation. These photographs
are unusually even in ex-
cellence. From the pages of
the volume ‘The picturesque
North’ rises in its beauty
and grandeur. The concise
explanations accompanying
the pictures add greatly to
the value of this highly in-
formative and attractive vol
ume, which does honor to all
concerned.
In closing, it may be add-
ed that the previous volu-
mes in the notable Iceland
Review Books series are:
Iceland — The Unspoiled
Land (1972), Volcano — Ord
eal by Fire in Iceland’s West
man Islands (1973), Reykja-
vík — A Panorama in Four
Seasons (1974), and Sculptor
— An Edda in Shapes and
SvmboJs (1974).
Our new
telephone
number:
247-7798
LETTER TO JONA
Oh how I wish I could see you
To talk and to laugh as of old,
To drink a good cup of coffee,
Your children to hug and to hold.
Your face was always so smiling,
Your dimples played hide and go seek.
I long to plant hundreds of kisses
On your velvety pink and white cheek.
I remember the shining gold ringlets
I often think of those moments
I brushed round my finger with care.
When I’m doing my own greying hair.
I may become tired and disheartened
And poor as a church mouse can be
But so long as I’ve brothers and sisters
To share the old mem’ries with nie
1*11 go on with my work and my worries
With hopes that some day there’U be
That great and glorious reunion
Of Pop, Mom, you kids and me.
With love — Alma
Dr Kristjanson
HEADS DEPARTMENTS OF
SOCIOLOGY
Dr- G. Albert Kristjanson has
been appointed as head of the de-
partment of sociology University
of Manitoba.
Dr Kristjanson is courrently a
member of that department and
has been acting head for the past
academic year. Dr. Kristjanson
graduated from the University of
Toronto in 1950 with his Bachelor of Science in
Agriculture, in 1953 from the North Dakota State
University with his masters, and from the Univer
sity of Winconsin in 1967 with his doctorate in
sociology.
After holdin several teaching position in the
U. S., Dr. Kristjanson joined the Manitoba Depart
ment of Agriculture in 1959 and stayed with the
department until 1967 when he came to the Uni-
versity of Manitoba- At the university he has
taught courses in rural sociology, social changes,
and social system, and his research interests in-
clude the sociology of education, and population
as well as rural sociology and social change.
Dr. Kristjanson is the son of the late Hannes
Kristjanson af Gimli and his wife Elin Kristjan-
son.
When Studa Eir.arsson passed away
on March 25, 1974, at the age of 94,
the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific lost one of its most devoted
supporters. A member for almost
seventy years, he served a term as
President in 1934-35 and guided the
activities of the Society as Secretary-
Treasurer from 1950-65; but his in-
terest in the welfare of the Society far
transcended these activities. It can be
fairly said that for two decades
through the 50’s and 60’s his guidance
was the essential ingredient in the
Society’s steady growth and current
health.
Born in Iceland on December 15,
1879, his parents moved to Duluth,
Minnesota in 1884. After a boyhood
in Duluth, he attended the University
of Minnesota, earning his AB with the
class of 1905. He immediately mi-
grated to California, where he came
under the influences of the legendary
A.O. Leuschner at Berkeley, under
whose guidance he earned his Ph.D. in
1913. The faculty committee ap-
pointed to pass on his dissertation
reads like the “who’s who” of
Northern California Astronomy at the
turn of the century; including
Leuschner, Russell Tracy Crawford,
and W.W. Campbell. His dissertation
Sturla Einarsson,
1879-1974
By John Phillips
Chairman, Dept. of Astronomy
University of California, Berkeley
topic “On the Orbits of Minor Planets
(624) Hector and (588) Achilles of the
frojan Group” was a fine example of
the research activity under Leyschner
that was giving Berkeley a solid repu-
tation as a pioneer in positional
astronomy.
Einarsson’s entire academic career
was centered at Berkeley. He was a
student assistant from 1905-10, be-
coming an instructor in 1910, an
assistant professor in 1918, an asso-
ciate professor in 1920, and a profes-
sor in 1928. He retired in 1950, but
maintained his interest in the depart-
ment of astronomy until failing health
during his last years curtailed his daily
presence at his desk. His expertise in
the field of positional astronomy led
to service as an instructor in navigation
during both world wars. In 1917-18 he
was in charge of instruction at the
United States Shipping Board Naviga-
tion School in San Francisco and the
Commissioned Officers Training
School of the United States Navy.
During World War II he was similarly
dee_ y involved in navigation courses
at Berkeley for the Navy, through
which he attracted the attention and
friendship of the late Admiral Nimitz.
From 1946 to 1950 Sturla Einars-
son served as chairman of the De-
partment of Astronomy at Berkeley.
Under his direction astronomy at
Berkeley underwent a dramatic change
of emphasis and a revival that persists
to this day. He brought Louis Henyey
out from Yerkes Observatory in 1947
to develop the department’s capabili-
ties in theoretical astrophysics, and
Otto Struve in 1950 to do the same in
the field of stellar and interstellar
spectroscopy. This spirit of diversity
of interests initiated by Einarsson has
continued, with the establishment of
the Radio astronomy laboratory, in-
.'est in X-ray and infrared astron-
omy, and theoretical research in inter-
stellar matter.
Sturia Einarsson was married twice.
He married his first wife in 1914. They
had two daughters, Margaret Dechant
of San Pablo and Elizabeth Cook of
Tucson, Arizona; two sons, Alfred and
John Einarsson of Los Gatos; six
grandchildren and one grcat-
grandchild. His flrst wife died in 1940.
In 1946 he married Thea, who survives
him and continues to live in their very
comfortable home overlooking Santa
Barbara Street in Berkeley.
While Sturla F.inarsson made signi-
ficant research contributions on the
orbits of comets and asteroids, he will
be remembered by generations of
Berkeley students as a dedicated
teacher. His personal interest in thcir
welfare and careers was legendary.
During his entire career at Berkeley he
was immersed in University affairs,
serving on innumerable faculty and
university committees and boards
during the Sproul heyday when the
University of California was under-
going its explosive growth. During his
later years he was viewed as one of the
Campus’ elder statesmen, serving,
among functions, as Secretary-
Treasurer of the Faculty Club over a
pericd of 29 years (i 929-58).