Born: 5 August 1802 · Died: 6 April 1829 · Age at death: 26
How old was Niels Henrik Abel when he died?
Niels Henrik Abel died aged 26. He was born on 5 August 1802 and died on 6 April 1829.
Norwegian mathematician known for his work on quintic equations
Did you know?He died in poverty from tuberculosis at twenty-six, just days before a letter arrived offering him a prestigious professorship in Berlin.
Quick facts
Date of birth5 August 1802
Date of death6 April 1829
Age at death26
Cause of deathTuberculosis
NationalityNorwegian
BirthplaceFinnøy, Norway
Occupationmathematician, university teacher
Editor's Take:
Niels Henrik Abel did his greatest work in poverty and died before recognition could help him. As a young man he settled a problem that had defeated mathematicians for centuries. It concerned equations of the fifth degree. His work on elliptic functions opened whole new areas of mathematics. He travelled across Europe seeking support. A major paper he sent to Paris was mislaid for years. Today mathematicians use the word 'abelian' constantly, often without thinking of the young man behind it.
Key Milestones
1821: Enters university in Christiania
1824: Proves the quintic cannot be solved by radicals
1826: Publishes major papers in Crelle's Journal
1829: Dies at 26
Niels Henrik Abel ( AH-bəl, Norwegian:; 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.
