Ragnar Jónsson of Smári

Jón Karl Helgason (University of Iceland)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

Born 7 Feb 1904
Died 11 Jul 1984

Places

Active in Iceland

Activities

Primary

Publisher

Resources

Ragnar Jónsson's Works

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Einar Ragnar Jónsson, better known as Ragnar of Smári, was an important patron of cultural life in twentieth-century Iceland. He was an art collector, actively participated in building up the Icelandic music scene, and ran a large publishing house for more than three decades. He started out, however, as an industrialist, together with his associate Þorvaldur Thoroddsen owning the margarine factory Smári as well as several other short-lived businesses.

A graduate of the Commercial College of Iceland, Ragnar was initially a social democrat, supporting the political party Alþýðuflokkurinn [the Social Democratic Party], but during years of economic depression in the 1930s he started to work closely with political and cultural leaders of Kommúnistaflokkurinn [the Icelandic Communist

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805 words

Citation: Helgason, Jón Karl. "Ragnar Jónsson of Smári". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 February 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14875, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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