Niels Abel Henrik is one of the most outstanding mathematicians of all mankind. He was born in the Norwegian town of Finney in the family of a pastor. His mother came from a merchant family. When Niels was one year old, the family moved to the city of Gierrestad.
Abel’s childhood
The childhood of the future mathematician could not be called happy: his health was poor, and his parents constantly drank and cursed. In 1815, Abel Nils Henrik enrolled in a cathedral school in Oslo. The family of the future mathematician was very poor, so Abel was in a full-board educational institution. At first, he did not stand out from the total mass of schoolchildren. At the same time, the teacher of mathematics at that time in school was a very cruel man who beat students. Abel's ability to math was first noticed by a teacher named Burt Michael Holmboe.
Teacher and pupil
Bert was very interested in mathematics, was good with students and also knew how to motivate them. Holmboe encouraged those who practiced on their own. It was thanks to him that Abel first became seriously interested in science. The teacher recalled that Abel was studying mathematics with an ardor that could only be inherent in a genius. Holmboe greatly encouraged Abel's desire to study, and also allowed him to use publications from his own library. After a very short time, Abel was already familiar with the basics of mathematics. At will, the future scientist literally “swallowed” the work of Gauss, Lacroix, Poisson and Lagrange.
The riddle that interested mathematicians
The next two years, with particular optimism, Abel takes up the solution of the most complicated problems in mathematics. One of these puzzles has long attracted scientists. These were equations of the fifth degree, as well as equations of higher degrees. For simpler equations, formulas have been known for a long time. The rule for solving equations of the fourth degree was discovered by the mathematician Ferrari, the third by Gerolamo Cardano.
However, no one could advance further. Despite this, the scientific community was confident in the fundamental possibility of solving the problem. Scientists believed that it was enough to make a special combination of coefficients and radicals in order to learn how to solve these equations. However, century after century passed, scientists devoted their whole lives to this task, but it remained unresolved.
Life at the university and teacher assistance
In 1820, a tragedy occurs in the Abel family: the father dies. His mother, sister and six brothers remain practically in poverty. In 1821, Nils Henrik Abel goes to university. There, his talent is also noticed by the teachers, and they decide to get a charity scholarship for a poor, but incredibly gifted student, so as not to lose his gift for science. Despite the difficulties and his melancholy nature, Abel was always friendly and accommodating with all students, with almost no enemies. The mathematics was so interesting to him that he could spend his studies around the clock, bringing himself almost to physical exhaustion.
In the winter of 1822-1823, Abel Niels Henrik wrote the first serious scientific work. It was devoted to the integrability of differential equations. As a reward he was awarded a state prize.
Neither the university head nor the Norwegian government lost sight of the brilliant talent possessed by Abel Niels Henrik. In the summer of 1823, Abel first had the opportunity to travel outside the borders of Norway. With the funds that the university professors raised, Abel went to Copenhagen. While traveling, the mathematician gets acquainted with other outstanding minds of that time: O. Cauchy, A. Legendre and others. And in 1825 he was sent to Germany, where his monthly allowance began to amount to 3168 francs.
In 1826, an article by Abel was published that described the process of solving equations of the fifth degree. This event immediately made him one of the greatest mathematicians in the world. However, the next work of the scientist, which was submitted to Cauchy for review, was lost in his papers. Cauchy could find Abel's job only after the death of the scientist. If this had not happened, Abel could have been awarded a large academic prize during his lifetime. Since this did not happen, he spent the rest of his life in dire need.
Further work
In Berlin, Abel meets another researcher, A. Krell, who begins to publish a mathematical journal. After successful work in Berlin, Abel Nils Henrik returns to his homeland - to Christiania. There he began to be interested in questions of algebraic equations. For all this time, about ten scientific articles on mathematics were published, the authorship of which belongs to Abel. In 1826, at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences, Nils Henrik Abel makes a presentation on transcendental functions in mathematics. His speech remains intentionally unnoticed by French scientists, it received its recognition only after the death of a mathematician.
Poor health and other problems
Then Abel goes on a second trip to Europe. He visits the cities of Dresden, Prague, Venice, Paris and others. But this trip cannot be called a tourist one: at this time, the scientist Abel Nils Henrik works a lot. He discovers 6 mathematical theorems. However, failures also befall him at this time: the manuscripts of the scientist are lost, money is running out, health is deteriorating. The scientist never gets a permanent income.
In 1828, he received the membership of the Royal Academy of Sciences - and this turns out to be the only recognition that Abel Nils Henrik receives during his lifetime. A photo on a Norwegian banknote of 500 kroons, which was used until 2002, is an honor that the scientist has already received posthumously.
In illness and want, the mathematician Abel Niels Henrik meets 1828. His biography ends tragically: he gets sick, and doctors suspect tuberculosis of a mathematician. In December of the same year, the scientist went to the city of Florend, where his wife worked. During the trip, the scientist catches a severe cold. Severe pneumonia and tuberculosis did their job, and on April 6, 1829, when the scientist was only 26, his life was cut short.
Abel's achievements
The solution of equations of the fifth degree is one of the most important discoveries in mathematics made by Abel Niels Henrik. His achievements also consist in the discovery of many theorems. He also investigated several algebraic functions. This line of research led Abel to the discovery of the theory of hyperelliptic functions. A number of important works by Abel Niels Henrik concern series theory.
Abel Prize
Since mathematicians do not receive the Nobel Prize, in 2002 the Norwegian government established a special prize for them, called the Abel Prize. Since 2003, every year she has been awarded to outstanding modern mathematicians. Its cash equivalent is a little less than a million US dollars. This award was created not only to award worthy researchers, but also to popularize mathematics among the younger generation. Among its laureates are such scientists as Lennart Carleson, John G. Thompson, Mikhail Gromov, Jean-Pierre Serre. Also, the Russian scientist Jacob Sinai became the winner of the Abel Prize. He received an award for his contribution to the study of dynamical systems, ergodic theory, and mathematical physics.