The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1963, Qupperneq 38

IHE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1963
36
Dr. Tryggvi J. 01 eson
Professor Tryggvi f. Oleson
Professor Tryggvi J. Oleson who
died in Winnipeg on October tire
ninth at the age of 51 will be mourn-
ed by many.
Dr. Oleson is survived by his wife,
Elva, two daughters, Kathryne Gail,
M.A., and Signy ten years of age, one
son Tomas, now attending the Univer-
sity of Manitoba. Furthermore, he is
mourned by his mother, Kristin Ole-
son in Glenboro, one brother, Tomas,
also in Glenboro, and one sister, Mrs.
Arni Josephson in Brandon.
In the passing of Dr. Oleson the
University of Manitoba and the com-
munity of Canadian historians lost an
outstanding scholar.
Professor Oleson received his M.A.
from the University of Manitoba in
1936. He then taught for a number
of years, first at the J. B. Academy in
Winnipeg and later at the University
of B. C., and in LTnited College, in
Winnipeg. In 1950 he received his
Ph.D. in history from the University
of Toronto and in that year he was
appointed Professor of History at the
University of Manitoba where he
served until the day of his death.
Tryggvi Oleson published a number
of scholarly articles in various journ-
als. Some of his contributions are to
be found in the following periodicals:
Speculum; The Canadian Historical
Review; The Saga Boole of the Viking-
Society (London); The Transactions
of the Royal Society of Canada; Studia
Islandica (University of Iceland);
Andvari (Iceland); Nordisk tidskrift
for bok och bibloteksvasen (Sweden).
Furthermore, Dr. Oleson was the
editor of vols. IV-V of the History of
the Icelanders in America (Saga Is-
lendinga i Vesturheimi) to which he
himself contributed the Llistory of the
Winnipeg Icelanders. In 1955 he pub-
lished a book on Medieval England
called “The Witenagemot in the
Reign of Edward the Confessor”. This
book was highly praised by scholars
and considered to be a lasting contri-
bution in the field of history.
Last summer Dr. Oleson published
his “Norsemen in America” and short-
ly before his death he had completed
the first volume of The History of
Canada which bears the title “Early
Voyages and Northern Approaches
860-1632”. In addition to works al-
ready mentioned, Dr. Oleson translat-
ed Dr. Jon Duason’s Pre-Columbian
Explorations and Settlements of the
Icelanders in the Western Hemis-
phere” (Landkonnun og landnam Is-
lendinga i Vesturheimi). It is to be
hoped that the translation will soon
be published.
For a number of years Dr. Oleson
was very active in Icelandic societies