Magnus Magnusson

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see also Magnús Ver Magnússon, strongman.

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. He went to school at 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 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 daughter, Sally Magnusson, is also a television presenter.

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