Jón Helgason (poet)

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Jón.

Jón Helgason (June 30, 1899 – January 19, 1986) was an Icelandic philologist and poet.^[1][2] He was head of the Danish Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies from 1927 to 1972 and professor of Icelandic studies at the University of Copenhagen from 1929 to 1969.^[1] He made significant contributions to his field. As a poet, he was not prolific but noted for his highly polished and effective traditional poetry. His best-known poems are Áfangar and Í Árnasafni.^[3]

One of his discoveries at the institute is the pair of glossaries that are the only documentation on Basque–Icelandic pidgin.^[4]

In 1923, he married Þórunn Ástriður Björnsdóttir (1895–1966) and in 1975 married Agnete Loth (1921-1990).^[1]