On Jónas Hallgrímsson’s birthday, 16 November, Icelandic Language Day (in Icelandic) is celebrated.
Jónas Hallgrímsson is best known for his poetry, his work in natural science and, not least, the new words he coined.
In 1842 the book Stjörnufræði, létt og handa alþýðu (Astronomy, Easy and for the Common People) was published: Jónas Hallgrímsson’s translation of the Danish mathematician G.F. Ursin’s (1797–1849) book Populært Foredrag over Astronomien. The book contains many of Jónas’s new words for natural phenomena, such as aðdráttarafl (gravity), sporbaugur (orbit), miðflóttaafl (centrifugal force), ljóshraði (speed of light) and many more.
You can view the book on the National and University Library of Iceland’s website Bækur.is.
The Library runs a website on the national poet Jónas at jonashallgrimsson.is.