Sigríður Tómasdóttir

In 1907, landowners including Sigríður's father, Tómas Tómasson, signed a deal to allow the construction of a hydroelectric dam across the Hvítá River that would result in the submergence of Gullfoss. Upset by the deal, she took legal action against the development and staged several protests.^[3] She made numerous treks of 120 kilometers to Reykjavík, by some accounts on foot, to meet with government officials and later threatened to throw herself in the waterfalls.^[1][4]

She was represented legally by Sveinn Björnsson, who later became Iceland's first president. Sigríður's efforts ultimately failed with the legal system but gained positive public attention. The lease contracts later were canceled and the hydroelectric project was never constructed.^[1][3] Gullfoss and the surrounding area was eventually sold to the Icelandic government and was made a permanent conservation site in 1979.^[1][5]

Sigríður died in 1957 and was buried in the Haukadalur cemetery. The sculptor Ríkarður Jónsson made a memorial to Tómasdóttir that stands near Gulfoss.^[2]