Was our 1850 U.S. census the first every-name census? NOPE.

Bet you thought, as I've always thought and been taught, that our 1850 U.S. Federal Census was The First to be an every-name census of a country's population.  And what a wonderful thing that was and still is to all of us genealogists.

BUT. 

On our recent trip to Iceland, and our visit to the National Museum of Iceland, I spotted an exhibit factoid that rocked my socks. "The first ever every name census in the world was taken in Iceland in 1703." Following up, I find that the Family History Library has that census available for researchers. Who would have thought?

Since the above doesn't lend itself to a photo, here is one of my favorites from the trip. This is Alaskan lupine, brought to Iceland to help control soil erosion and now has happily spread thickly all over the island. And one of Iceland's several glaciers.