Guðbrandur Þorláksson (1541 – July 20, 1627) was an Icelandic mathematician, cartographer and clergyman.

He studied at the cathedral school in Hólar and then at the University of Copenhagen

University of Copenhagen

The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...

. He and was successively rector of the school at Skálholt

Skálholt

Skálholt is an historical site situated in the south of Iceland at the river Hvítá.-History:Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. From 1056 until 1785, it was one of Iceland's two episcopal sees, along with Hólar, making it a cultural and political...

 and minister at historic Breiðabólstaður in Vesturhóp. The first laws of Iceland had been written at Breiðabólstaður. The bar association of Iceland has erected a memorial by the site.

Guðbrandur Þorláksson was Bishop of Hólar

Hólar

Hólar is a small community located in the Skagafjörður district and situated in northern Iceland.-Location:Hólar is located in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital at Reykjavík. Hólar has a population of around 100...

 from 1571 until his death on July 20, 1627. During his time as bishop, Guðbrandur edited and published at least 80 books, including the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 in Icelandic

Icelandic language

Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...

 and the Icelandic Lawbook or legal code

Legal code

A legal code is a body of law written by a governmental body, such as a U.S. state, a Canadian Province or German Bundesland or a municipality...

. He is also noted for having drawn the first good map of Iceland, in 1590. He had at least one child, a daughter named Steinunn, born in 1571 to Guðrún Gísladóttir.

Guðbrandur Þorláksson is pictured on the now obsolete Icelandic 50 króna

Icelandic króna

The króna is the currency of Iceland. The króna is technically subdivided into 100 aurar , but in practice this subdivision is no longer used....

 banknote.

Sources

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Thorláksson, Gudbrandur". (1911) Encyclopædia Britannica
  Encyclopædia Britannica
  The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
  
  (Eleventh ed.).Cambridge University Press.