November 16 is both Icelandic Language Day and the day one of Iceland’s great poets, Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807-1845) was born.

Dagur íslenskrar tungu or Icelandic Language Day was established in1995. Hallgimsson’s birthday, November 16, was picked for the celebration.

The poet and naturalist Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807-1845) was one of the most learned men of his time. He had a degree in theology, studied law and later completed a degree in natural sciences from the University of Copenhagen. Jónas went on research trips around Iceland and wrote diaries and reports on Icelandic nature. In addition to his scientific work, Jónas was active in the publication of the journal Fjölnir, he wrote numerous poems, wrote stories and translated foreign works of fiction into the Icelandic language.

Jónas was a prolific neologism, and his sensitivity and respect for the language enabled him to express his own thoughts and those of others in such a way that neologisms were used to describe things or ideas that previously did not correspond in Icelandic, and new words and new combinations in poetry and prose seem familiar and like part of the basic vocabulary of the language. (Guðrún Kvaran, 2007).
The Cabinet | Day of the Icelandic Language

Two stamps have been issued honouring Hallgrimsson in 1957 and 2007. Both stamps used the same 1845 sketch by Déssington, the year of Hallgrimsson’s death. 

Jónas Hallgrimsson – 150th Years Birth Anniversary
Released by Iceland in 1957
Designed by Stefan Jonsson

Jónas Hallgrímsson – 200 Years Birth Anniversary
Released by Iceland in 2007
Designed by Dagur Hilmarsson and engraved by Martin Mörck