Niels Henrik Abel
| Niels Henrik Abel | |
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Niels Henrik Abel
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| Born |
5 August 1802 Nedstrand, Norway |
| Died | 6 April 1829 (aged 26) Froland, Norway |
| Residence | Norway |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Alma mater | Royal Frederick University (BA, 1822) |
| Academic advisors | Bernt Michael Holmboe |
| Known for |
Abel's binomial theorem Abelian category Abelian variety Abel equation Abel equation of the first kind Abelian extension Abel function Abelian group Abel's identity Abel's inequality Abel's irreducibility theorem Abel–Jacobi map Abel–Plana formula Abel–Ruffini theorem Abelian means Abel's summation formula Abelian and tauberian theorems Abel's test Abel's theorem Abel transform Abel transformation Abelian variety Abelian variety of CM-type Dual abelian variety |
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Niels Henrik Abel (Norwegian: [ˈɑːbɛl]; 5 August 1802 – 6 April 1829) was a Norwegian mathematician who made pioneering contributions in a variety of fields. His most famous single result is the first complete proof demonstrating the impossibility of solving the general quintic equation in radicals. This question was one of the outstanding open problems of his day, and had been unresolved for 250 years. He was also an innovator in the field of elliptic functions, discoverer of Abelian functions. Despite his achievements, Abel was largely unrecognized during his lifetime; he made his discoveries while living in poverty and died at the age of 26.
Most of his work was done in six or seven years of his working life. Regarding Abel, the French mathematician Charles Hermite said: "Abel has left mathematicians enough to keep them busy for five hundred years." Another French mathematician, Adrien-Marie Legendre, said: "quelle tête celle du jeune Norvégien!" ("what a head the young Norwegian has!").
The Abel Prize in mathematics, originally proposed in 1899 to complement the Nobel Prizes, is named in his honour.
Niels Henrik Abel was born in Nedstrand, Norway, as the second child of the pastor Søren Georg Abel and Anne Marie Simonsen. When Niels Henrik Abel was born, the family was living at a rectory on Finnøy. Much suggests that Niels Henrik was born in the neighboring parish, as his parents were guests of the bailiff in Nedstrand in July / August of his year of birth.
Niels Henrik Abel's father, Søren Georg Abel, had a degree in theology and philosophy and served as pastor at Finnøy. Søren's father, Niels's grandfather, Hans Mathias Abel, was also a pastor, at Gjerstad near Risør. Søren had spent his childhood at Gjerstad, and had also served as chaplain there; and after his father's death in 1804, Søren was appointed pastor at Gjerstad and the family moved there. The Abel family originated in Schleswig and came to Norway in the 17th century.
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