Niels Henrik Abel
Pioneering Norwegian mathematician known for proving the insolvability of the general quintic equation.
Chronology: 1802-08-05 – 1829-04-06
Origins & Early Life
Niels Henrik Abel ( AH-bəl, Norwegian: [ˌnɪls ˈhɛ̀nːɾɪk ˈɑ̀ːbl̩]; 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 over 250 years. He was also an innovator in the field of elliptic functions and the discoverer of Abelian functions.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
He made his discoveries while living in poverty and died at the age of 26 from tuberculosis. 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: "What a head the young Norwegian has!" == Life == === Early life === Niels Henrik Abel was born prematurely 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...
Enduring Legacy & Impact
The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.
Source: Wikipedia