Abel and the Abel Prize

Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) was a Norwegian mathematician who contributed to the development of Algebra and Calculus. His dad is a pastor. In 1815 he enrolled at a seminary. In 1817, an incident occurred at Abel's school which led to the school having to replace a math teacher.

From here, with the guidance of his new teacher Michael Bernt Holmboe (1795-1850), Abel began to reveal his mathematical aptitude by giving them solutions to difficult problems posed by him, At the same time he also began to study mathematics. At this stage, his father died, his family's life became difficult. However, thanks to a scholarship, in 1821, Abel attended the Royal University of Frederick (now Oslo).

Niels Henrik Abel

Thanks to the rich materials at the university, he has good access to contemporary mathematical results and continues to study the pursuing mathematical topics. The first work he published was in 1824 about the unsolvability of the fifth order equation, a great achievement of Algebra during 2000 years of development. At that stage, the university where he attended did not have any specializations in natural sciences.

The leaders of the school as well as the enthusiastic professors want to send him to study in the big math centers abroad such as France, Germany . Thanks to the state scholarship, in 1825, he had a journey to study. in Germany and France. In Germany, he met with mathematician August Leopold Crelle, who prepared for the publication of Crelle's famous math magazine. His next work on functions, commutative groups . was first published on the first numbers of this journal. As his career progresses, he soon dies due to illness.

With Abel's great contributions, commemorating the 200th anniversary of his birth, in 2001, the Norwegian Government decided to establish the Abel mathematical prize, to enhance the position of mathematics in society, stimulating The interest of children and youth with mathematics. The Abel Prize is awarded annually, worth about one million US dollars. Over 10 times, starting in 2003, the prize was awarded to 12 outstanding mathematicians. Previously more than 100 years, as soon as the Nobel Prize was founded and awarded for the first time in 1901, the Abel Prize was established. However, due to historical conditions, the award was not formed at that time. Hopefully, the reputation of the Abel Prize for mathematics is increasingly known to the public.