Niels-Henrik Abel

Few men in modern mathematics have had as great an impact as the Norwegian Niels Henrik Abel (1802–29), whose discoveries paved the way for several new branches of nineteenth-century mathematics. Tragically, Abel's short life was dominated by poverty and his scientific achievements were not fully recognised until after his death. This work, written by Carl Anton Bjerknes (1825–1903), was the first full biography of Abel. Originally published in 1880 and translated into French in 1885, it became a valuable resource for later Abel biographers and scholars of the history of mathematics. With insight and understanding, Bjerknes charts the progress of the talented young mathematician and gives a detailed account of Abel's work and his correspondence with other contemporary mathematicians. In particular, he examines in depth (from Abel's point of view) the dispute between Abel and his rival Jacobi relating to their discoveries of elliptic functions in the 1820s.