This archive contains the papers of Magnusson Magnusson (1929-2007), broadcaster, scholar, author and environmentalist accumulated over the course of his career. After embarking on a career in journalism in the 1950s Magnusson moved into television in the-mid 1960s where he presented such programmes as "Chronicle" which was dedicated to achaeological discoveries. Magnusson may be best known for his role of quizmaster on the long-running BBC show Mastermind. Magnusson had a strong connection to his Icelandic ancestry and produced many works on Icelandic literature. He was also a noted translator, bringing the work of the Nobel prize winning author Halldór Laxness to the English speaking world. Magnusson also had a deep commitment to envionrmental concerns both nationally in Scotland, and internationally. He was the first Chair of the newly formed Scottish Natural Heritage (NatureScot from August 2020) and served in this capacity from 1992 until 1999.

The archive reflects the wide variety of Magnusson's interests throughout his life. The collection contains material on most, but not all, of his publications, as well as his translation work on the Icelandic sagas and the novels of Halldór Laxness. There are numbers of scripts and research notes covering Magnusson's broadcasting career on both television and radio, including significant numbers of scripts from his time on "Chronicle". The archive also contains files relating to Magnusson's research on a wide variety of topics relating to both Scotland and Iceland. Almost a third of this archive concerns Magnusson's involvement with Scottish Natural Heritage, both in his official capacity as the organisation's Chairman, but also his own research into the natural heritage of Scotland which was often the basis for speeches delivered at various events. At the end of the archive are a number of personal papers of Magnusson's, and material on posts that he held at Universities and with other cultural insitutions.