The society was founded in 1816, when the Icelandic independence movement was in its infancy, at the instigation of Rasmus Rask and Árni Helgason.
Jón Sigurðsson, an Icelandic cultural hero, served as president of the Copenhagen branch from 1851 to 1879.
[1] Since 1970, the society has published Icelandic translations of key non-Icelandic academic and literary works, in a series titled Lærdómsrit hins íslenska bókmenntafélags which was initiated by the society's then president, Sigurður Líndal [is], and Þorsteinn Gylfason, who served as its editor in chief until 1992.
[5] The one hundredth book in the series was a translation of Rainer Maria Rilke's novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge.
[6] The society publishes the magazine Skírnir, which succeeded its first annual, Íslenzk Sagnablöð, in 1827,[7][8][9] and also acts as distributor for the Íslenzk fornrit series (publications of the Old Icelandic Text Society).