HAFSTEIN, HANNES THORDUR Ice landic statesman and poet, was born on Dec. 4, 1861. As a young man he became known as a lyrical poet. In 1901 he was elected a member of the Althing, and soon became a leader of the Home Rule party. It was chiefly owing to his influence that Denmark consented, in 1903, to the transfer of the residency of the minister for Iceland from Copenhagen to Reykjavik. On Jan. 31, 1904, Hafstein was appointed to this office and inaugurated a new era of practical reform. His first work was to arrange a telegraphic cable to Great Britain and a net of telegraphs and telephones all over the island. His efforts, however, were hampered by the extremists, who demanded greater political independence from Denmark. Their obduracy led to his resignation in 1908. On the victory of the Home Rulers in 1911, Hafstein again became min ister in 1912, but had to resign in 1914 after new and fruitless efforts to effect reconciliation. He lived, however, to see the full reconciliation between the two countries in 1918, and the recogni tion of Iceland as an independent State in union with Denmark. He died on Dec. 13, 1922.