The Icelandic Canadian - 01.11.2007, Blaðsíða 22

64
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 61 #2
tutelage for four years, according to the
register of the Reykjavik Parish, first at
Nes by Seltjorn until the spring of 1833,
and then in Reykjavik the next year, as the
said Jon Thorsteinsson had moved to
Hlidarhus. In the meantime Jon Hjaltalin
had received enough education to be a dis-
trict physician. It seemed that he was
unable to pursue further studies at the
University of Copenhagen due to lack of
funds, as his father was a poor man all his
life.
In the summer of 1834, however, he
decided to go to Copenhagen to continue
his studies in medicine, as he had been
offered financial assistance by the
Konferenzrad, Thordur Sveinbjornsson,
who had become associate justice in the
Supreme Court of Iceland. He was mar-
ried to the widow of Stefan Stephensen
(sub-governor in Iceland), Gudrun
Oddsdottirr, who was related to Jon
Hjaltalin. It would seem that he obtained
passage on the ship that was to bring
Crown Prince Frederick (later Frederick
VII) to Iceland that summer. Undoubtedly
he got free passage.
When Jon arrived in Copenhagen, he
continued his medical studies and took an
exam in surgery with the Medical Academy
in the spring of 1837, receiving first class
honours. The year after (1838) he went on
a journey to Germany to visit hospitals for
men with nervous disorders, and in the
spring of 1839 he took examinations in
another branch of medicine at the
University of Kil in Holstein, graduating
with honours (laudabilis summa cum
laude) and receiving a doctor's degree for a
paper he had written in Latin ('De
Redesyge, Lepra et Elephantium
Septentionate'). After completing this
course of studies he returned to
Copenhagen and was made a doctor in the
King's regiment, and on September 4th of
that year he received the title of Surgeon of
the Battalion. This all demonstrated that he
had gained a good reputation for his learn-
ing and was considered a good doctor.
In the summer of 1839, Dr. Jon
Hjaltalin returned to Iceland and wrote an
article entitled "Criticism of the One Eyed
Odin", which was printed on the Isle of
Videy at the urging of a number of mer-
chants in Reykjavik. He felt indebted to the
Tomas Saemundsson for his good review of
his book on veterinary science, which
appeared in the periodical Fjolnir (another
name for Odin). The periodical was dedi-
cated to the independence movement. In
1840 he received some remuneration to go
to Iceland to research leprosy, and as a
result he stayed for most of the summer.
During that summer he married his fiancee,
Karen Jacobine, the daughter of Hans
Baagoe, a merchant in Reykjavik but for-
merly at Husavik in Thingeyjarsyla. Dr.
Jon Hjaltalin and his wife lived together for
26 years, until her death on May 22nd,
1866. However, the marriage was childless.
In the fall, Jon Hjaltalin returned to
Copenhagen where he remained for the
next winter. In the spring he received a
commission to go to Germany to study
hydropathical cures, which were being
applied with considerable success in that
country. After he returned from Germany,
he decided to offer such treatments in
Denmark. On July 1, 1842, he was
appointed doctor of the 5th Regiment of
the Danish infantry. On the 30th of April
1844, he received permission to set up a sta-
tion for hydropathical cures at
Klampenborg on the eastern shore of
Sealand, about a mile north of
Copenhagen, including a considerable area
to establish the proper facilities. He needed
to secure financing for the project, and in
order to devote his efforts to this new
endeavor, he resigned his position as army
doctor on May 4th of that year. He was
involved with the hydropathical cure facil-
ity for 5 years until 1852. A disagreement
then arose between him and the manager of
the facility and some of the investors, and
as a consequence he terminated his involve-
ment in the facility.
At that time Dr. Jon Hjaltalin felt a
need to return to his homeland, and in the
summer of 1852 he went back to Iceland.
At the request of the government, he then
decided to investigate the health benefits of
sulphurous vapors found in Iceland. He
also wanted to research braxy1 to deter-
mine the nature of this disease. As a result
he decided to establish a residence at