Magnus Magnusson

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For the Icelandic strongman, see Magnús Ver Magnússon.

Magnús Magnússon KBE (born 12 October 1929) is a Scottish television presenter, journalist, translator and writer, of Icelandic origin. He came to fame as presenter of the BBC television quiz programme Mastermind, which he hosted for 25 years.

He was born in Reykjavík but grew up in Edinburgh, where his father was Icelandic consul. Under Icelandic naming conventions, his name would have been Magnús Sigursteinsson (Magnús, son of Sigursteinn), but his family adopted Scottish naming conventions and used his father's last name. He schooled at The Edinburgh Academy.

After graduating from Jesus College, Oxford, he became a reporter with the Scottish Daily Express and The Scotsman. He went freelance in 1967, then joined the BBC, presenting programmes on history and archaeology as well as appearing in news programmes. He was Rector of the University of Edinburgh from 1975 to 1978, and later became Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University.

His most famous catch-phrase on Mastermind, which the current presenter John Humphrys has continued to use, was "I've started so I'll finish".

He has translated a variety of books from Icelandic and Old Norse into English. Among these are several works by Halldór Laxness, the Nobel prize winning novelist from Iceland, and a number of Norse sagas which he co-translated (with Hermann Pálsson) for the Penguin Classics series: Njal's Saga (1960), The Vinland Sagas (1965), King Harald's Saga (1966) and Laxdaela Saga (1969). Magnusson is also the author of a popular history of the Viking era, called The Vikings (revised edition, 2000).

His eldest daughter, Sally Magnusson, is also a television presenter in Scotland.

On October 12, 2006 his 77th birthday, Magnusson was diagnosed with cancer. [1]