Information AboutNiels Abel |
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Abel's first notable work was a proof of the impossibility of solving the , Hyperelliptic , and a new class now known as Abelian Function s being particularly intensely studied. In 1826 Abel moved to Paris , and during a ten month stay he met the leading mathematicians of France; but he was poorly appreciated, as his work was scarcely known, and his modesty restrained him from proclaiming his researchings. Pecuniary embarrassments, from which he had never been free, finally compelled him to abandon his tour, and on his return to Norway he taught for some time at Christiania. In early April 1829 Crelle obtained a post for him in Berlin, but the letter bringing the offer did not reach Norway until two days after Abel's death from Tuberculosis at Froland Ironworks near Arendal . The early death of this talented mathematician, of whom Legendre said "quelle tête celle du jeune Norvégien!" ("what a head the young Norwegian has!"), cut short a career of extraordinary brilliance and promise. Under Abel's guidance, the prevailing obscurities of analysis began to be cleared, new fields were entered upon and the study of functions so advanced as to provide mathematicians with numerous ramifications along which progress could be made. His works, the greater part of which originally appeared in '' Crelle's Journal '', were edited by Holmboe and published in 1839 by the Swedish government, and a more complete edition by Ludwig Sylow and Sophus Lie was published in 1881 . The adjective "abelian", derived from his name, has become so commonplace in mathematical writing that it is conventionally spelled with a lower-case initial "a" (see Abelian Group and Abelian Category ; also Abelian Variety and Abel Transform ). In 2002 , the Abel Prize was established in his honour. TRIVIA
There is a statue of Abel in Oslo . He is believed to be the only mathematician to have been portrayed in the nude. During an American fad of Grape Joke s, some mathematicians would ask their colleagues "What's purple and commutes?" The desired answer is "An abelian grape". EXTERNAL LINKS |
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