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Norway's Young Genius
On August 5th 2002 it will be two hundred years since Niels H. Abel was born at Finnöy, in Rogaland. When he was two, the family moved to Gjerstad in Aust Agder where his father took over the living his grandfather had held for 20 years. Parish priests didn't earn much in those days and the early education of the six Abel boys was left in the hands of the father to begin with. However, at the age of 13 Niels, and his older brother were sent to the prestigious Cathedral school in Christiania (Oslo) where the mathematics teacher, Bernt Michael Holmbe, was only seven years older than Abel. Recognizing Abel's talent, Holmbe gave him personal attention, set him advanced problems and recommended special books. In this way, Abel became familiar with most of the important contemporary math literature and he began to delve into ancient mathematical problems. One of these was the solvability of the quintic equation, a question first posed in the sixteenth century. Abel thought he had found the solution and he submitted his work for publication. The editor could neither understand the arguments nor find an error so he asked Abel to illustrate and clarify his methods. In the process of revising and illustrating his work, Abel found an error and established a proof that no solution existed. He also worked on elliptic functions and his results revolutionized the theory of elliptic functions. Abel is honored by such terms as Abelian group and Abelian function. Later, when asked where he learned his expertise, Abel replied, "from studying the masters and not their pupils". In 1825 the government gave Abel a scholarship to visit France and Germany. In Paris he presented an important paper on elliptic functions which a contemporary mathematician described as "a monument more lasting than bronze". In Berlin Abel met August Crelly, a renowned amateur mathematician and professional editor, who had published several of Abel's papers and who became his friend. Abel had hoped, without avail, that his journey would result in the offer of a University appointment - and the secure income that he so sorely needed. Abel's father had died in 1820 and the finances of the family became his responsibility. Abel's talent, great as it was, paid no dividends and the little money he earned from tutoring was hardly enough to keep poverty and ill health at bay. On his return from France and Germany, the disappointed Abel once again took up the struggle to support his family at Froland Verk. The effort proved too much for him and, stricken with tuberculosis, Niels Henrik Abel died on April 6 1829, only twenty-seven years old. Two days later a letter arrived from his friend Crelle in Berlin informing Abel of his appointment as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Berlin. If elliptic functions, quintic equations and Abelian groups are as far beyond your understanding as they are mine, it might be difficult to understand the renown and respect the name of Niels H. Abel inspires in international academic circles. To get some idea of his status, consider that in October 2001, Unesco placed Abel's name on the list of the world's great thinkers. The only other Nordic representative on this list is the Iclandic author, Halldor Laxness. At the turn of the millennium, the respected magazine, Nature, included Abel on their list of the most important thinkers of the previous millennium, together with, for example, Kant and Einstein. Albert Einstein formulated the famous equation, E=mc2, when he was 26 - and lived for fifty years afterwards. How much greater would Abel's reputation have been had he been allowed to live a natural span? Norway, and especially Aust-Agder and Froland Verk, are determined that the bicentennial of the birth of Norway's young genius will be memorable. The previous government allocated funds for a national math competition, 'KappAbel' for ninth graders, and a 200 million kroner allocation is slated for an annual international math prize to be given in Abel's name starting in 2003. A national newspaper has featured a daily math problem and a nationwide school competition is drawing to a close - the winner will be announced on April 11. An exhibition of Abel memorabilia opened at Froland Verk in January and will move to the University Library in Oslo in May. For the third time, a new postage stamp will bear his portrait and in August he will again appear in purses, pockets and cash-registers - embossed on a new 20 kroner coin. The European Mathematical Society will hold its Council Meeting in Oslo followed by the Abel Bicentennial Conference, the presentation of the Abel Prize and a tour to Froland and Gjerstad to take part in the international bicentennial events there. Then there are the 200 books. A forgotten remnant of Abel's collected works, printed in 1881 has been re-discovered. The books will be numbered, bound in burgundy leather with an inscription embossed in gold. Although full details have not yet been announced, the price will be kr.5000, pre-orders are being accepted, and the edition has been entirely translated into French. Of course, the books could just as well have been written in Greek unless you understand that "In general, the elements of a group do not commute with one another. That is, if a and b are elements of some group, then ab is not necessarily equal to ba. If a some group G has the property that for any a and b in G, ab = ba, we call that group an abelian group". I don't, but I do hope that these bicentennial activities will help to make Niels H. Abel a name recognized by a larger number of 'ordinary men and women'. Certainly his fame will spread in Norway. Oslo might have its Abel Street but if local patriots get their way, the projected new university in Southern Norway will become The Abel University. Geoffrey K. Ward
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A 12 meter-high statue of him stands in the park outside the Royal Palace in Oslo. Those lucky enough to own a kr.500 bill issued between 1948 and 1991 will recognize his face. Special stamps were issued in his honor in 1929 and 1983. Streets bear his name in many Norwegian towns and cities, a crater on the moon and an asteroid flashing through the sky are named after him. In Oslo, the Abel Café is situated, naturally enough, on Abels Street, which, naturally enough, skirts one side of Oslo University. Yet, with all this official recognition, I suspect that only a handful of 'ordinary men and women' could answer the question "who was Niels H. Abel?"  |
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