Jochumsson, Matthías

Jochumsson, Matthías (mät`tēäs yŏk`küms-sŏn), 1835–1920, Icelandic playwright, poet, and translator. Although Jochumsson was the founder of the modern drama in Iceland, with poetic plays such as Útilegumennirnir [the outlaws] (1864), he is best known as a lyric poet. After graduating from theological school he traveled abroad, returning to Iceland to work as a translator of Shakespeare, Byron, and Ibsen. His autobiography, Sögukaflar af sjálfum mér [stories from my life], was published in 1922. Jochumsson also composed hymns, including the Icelandic national hymn.