Editing Einar Benediktsson

{{for|the musician|Einar Örn Benediktsson}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2016}}
{{icelandic name|Einar}}
'''Einar Benediktsson''', often referred to as '''Einar Ben''' (31 October 1864 – 12 January 1940)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=78381&pageId=1149785|title=Einar Benediktsson|last=Páll Steingrímsson|date=27 January 1940|publisher=[[Vísir]]|language=is}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Lögfræðingatal 1736-1992|date=1993|publisher=Iðunn|location=Reykjavík}}</ref> was an [[Iceland]]ic [[poet]] and [[lawyer]].

Einar Benediktsson's poetry was a significant contribution to the nationalistic revival which led to Iceland's independence. To this end, he was active both in founding the [[Landvarnarflokkurinn]] in 1902, and as the editor of Iceland's first daily newspaper, [[Dagskrá]], from 1896 to 1898. 
As a poet, he may be classified as a [[Neo-romanticism|Neo-Romantic]]. He advocated for Greenland to become part of an independent Iceland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.frettabladid.is/frettir/islendingar-gerdu-tilkall-til-graenlands-fyrir-sjalfstaedi/|title=Íslendingar gerðu tilkall til Grænlands fyrir sjálfstæði|website=www.frettabladid.is|access-date=2019-08-23}}</ref>

He pioneered as a strong advocate of inward foreign investment to utilize Iceland's natural resources.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} 
In 1906 he joined the management of two companies, Skjálfanda and Gigant, formed to build and operate hydroelectric power plants, particularly the northern waterfalls of the [[Skjálfandafljót]] and [[Jökulsá á Fjöllum]] rivers.
Fund raising began, but there was opposition from people who objected to foreign involvement.
In 1914 Einar Benediktsson was one of the founders of [[Fossafélagið Títan]] and three sister companies Sirius, Orion and Taurus, established to harness the power of the [[Þjórsá]] waterfalls.<ref>{{citation|language=is|date=April 2003|type=Environmental Impact Assessment Report|author=HNIT|publisher=Landsvirkjun|title=Urriðafossvirkjun í Þjórsá allt að 150 MW og breyting á Búrfellslínu 2|url=http://www.landsvirkjun.is/Media/Matsskyrsla_urridafoss.PDF|accessdate=2017-05-21|archive-date=2017-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024043528/http://www.landsvirkjun.is/Media/Matsskyrsla_urridafoss.PDF|url-status=dead}}</ref>

His translations include English, and American poetry, and a masterpiece in rendering [[Henrik Ibsen]]'s epic, [[Peer Gynt]], into Icelandic. Einar Benediktsson was buried at Iceland's national shrine, [[Þingvellir]]. He has descendants living today in Iceland, other European countries, and the United States, most notably including former ambassador and namesake Einar Benediktsson (b. 1931).

He resided at [[Höfði]] house in northern [[Reykjavík]] for twelve years between 1913 and 1925. Einar's statue, made in 1964 by [[Ásmundur Sveinsson]], was moved in 2015 from Miklatún park, in Reykjavik, and now stands near the house.

==Works==
* 1897: Sögur og kvæði (''Stories and poems'')
* 1901: Pétur Gautur, translation from [[Henrik Ibsen]]'s ''Peer Gynt''.
* 1906: Hafblik, poems
* 1913: Hrannir, poems
* 1921: Vogar, poems
* 1930: Hvammar, poems<ref>''Íslenska Alfræðiorðabókin A-G. 1990.'' Editors: Dóra Hafsteinsdóttir and Sigríður Harðardóttir. Örn og Örlygur hf., Reykjavík.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Einar Benediktsson}}
[[Category:1864 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:Icelandic male poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Icelandic poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Icelandic poets]]
[[Category:Icelandic translators]]
[[Category:19th-century male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Icelandic male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century translators]]