Events in Iceland History
- 0930-06-23 World's oldest parliament, the Icelandic Parliament is established, the Alþingi (anglicised as Althing or Althingi)
- 1783-06-08 Laki volcano in southern Iceland begins 8-month eruption, killing 10,000 and causing widespread famines throughout Asia and Europe
- 1783-07-29 Skaptar Volcano on Iceland erupts killing about 9,000
- 1899-02-16 Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur Iceland's first football club is founded
- 1918-12-01 Danish parliament passes an act to grant Iceland independence under Danish crown
- 1929-05-08 Jan Mayen island, 500 km NNE of Iceland, incorporated into Norway
- 1935-01-28 Iceland becomes 1st western country to legalize abortion
- 1941-07-07 US forces land in Iceland to forestall Nazi invasion
- 1941-10-31 Prior to US joining WWII, German submarine U-552 torpedoes US destroyer Reuben James near Iceland
- 1942-03-20 Convoy PQ13 departs Reykjavik Iceland to Russia
- 1942-06-27 PQ-17 convoy leaves Iceland for Archangelsk
- 1944-05-24 Icelandic voters severe all ties with Denmark
- 1944-06-16 Iceland adopts constitution
- 1944-06-17 Iceland dissolves its union with Denmark and declares itself a Republic
- 1949-03-30 Riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO
- 1959-05-06 Iceland gunboats shoot at British fishing vessels
- 1968-02-05 A fishing trawler from Hull sinks off the coast of Iceland
- 1971-04-21 Original Codex Reguis (with Edda-liederen) returns to Iceland
- 1973-01-23 Helgafell, island of Heimaey Iceland erupts for 1st time in 7,000 yrs
- 1975-10-15 Iceland moves intl boundary from 50 to 200 miles
- 1976-06-01 Great Britain and Iceland end the "cod war"
- 1978-11-15 183 die as Icelandic Airlines DC-8 crashes in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- 1985-11-14 Holmfriour Karlsdottir of Iceland, 22, crowned 35th Miss World
Reagan and Gorbachev
1986-10-11 Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland
Election of Interest
1988-06-29 Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected the 4th President of Iceland becoming the world's 1st democratically elected female President
- 1988-11-17 Linda Petursdottir of Iceland, 18, crowned 38th Miss World
- 1991-02-12 Iceland recognizes Lithuania's independence
Debut
1993-07-05 Icelandic musician Björk releases her 1st solo album "Debut"
- 2002-05-23 The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland
- 2007-04-24 Iceland announces that Norway will shoulder the defense of Iceland during peacetime
- 2008-10-24 Iceland receives a £1.3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 1st European country to require an emergency loan as a result of the financial crisis
- 2009-02-01 Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay Head of Government in the modern world.
- 2010-04-14 Icelandic Volcano Eyjafjallajökull begins erupting from the top crater in the centre of the glacier
- 2010-04-15 Volcanic ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland leads to the closure of airspace over most of Europe.
- 2010-12-07 Iceland officially leaves the recession with growth of 1.2% in the third quarter
- 2016-04-05 Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigns after the Panama Papers leak show a conflict of interest
- 2016-06-09 Successful attempts to turn CO2 gases into stone underground in Iceland published in the journal "Science"
- 2016-06-26 Iceland’s presidential election is won by history professor Guðni Jóhannesson
Famous Icelanders
Björk
Halldór Laxness
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir