JÓANNES RASMUSSEN
(1912-1992) may be considered as the
father of geological science in the
Faroe Islands. He was the first Faroese
person with a university degree in
geology, and his merits as a
geoscientist are numerous. Together with
his former tutor from the university,
Prof. Arne Noe-Nygaard, he carried out
the detailed mapping of the onshore
geology of the islands, at a time when
no detailed mapping of plateau basaltic
terrains was performed elsewhere.
The map and associated memoir were
published in 1969. He was the driving
force in the foundation of the Faroese
Geological Department (1952) and the
Museum of Natural History (1955), both
of which he subsequently was directed
for several decades, while he was
simultaneously heading the Faroese
Department of the Geological Survey of
Denmark, DGU.
One fundamental principle of Jóannes was
that knowledge on its own is worthless.
It is only by using the knowledge
actively and by sharing it with others
that it becomes valuable. He was
constantly busy with the distribution of
his own knowledge and with making
knowledge and skills accessible for
others. Already during his student years
in Copenhagen, he wrote a number of
geological articles, and his overall
portfolio of scientific literature is
overwhelming. He chaired the Faroese
Student Association in Copenhagen
1937-1944, was vice chairman of the
Faroese association Føroyingafelag
1938-1941, and the first editor of
Búgvin - a periodical for Faroese people
in exile during the second world war.
After returning to the Faroe Islands in
1951 Jóannes was chaired the association
Føroya Náttúra – Føroya Skúli (The
Faroese Nature – The Faroese School)
1952 - 1978. In 1952 he co-founded the
Scientific Society of the Faroe Islands,
Føroya Fróðskaparfelag, which he
directed and co-directed for 25 years,
during which he also acted as editor of
the Faroese scientific periodical,
Fróðskaparrit (Annales Societatis
Scientiarum Færoensis), and he was one
of the driving forces in the
establishment of the University of the
Faroe Islands in 1965, where he taught
geology and other natural sciences for
many years while also teaching at
several other institutions of education.
Jóannes Rasmussen was appointed Doctor
of Honour at the University of
Copenhagen in 1979. After his official
retirement from his position at the
Museum and at DGU in 1980 he continued
writing and teaching and was actively
involved in several scientific projects.
In 1981 he was honoured with the M. A.
Jacobsen literature award for his book
Øldir og Upphav.
The Jóannes Rasmussen Conference
is intended to be a forum for the
distribution, use and sharing of
knowledge and skills between people
interested in geosciences, especially
volcanology or those interested in the
Northeast Atlantic Region.
