Erik Ivar Fredholm developed the modern theory of integral equations. His work served as the foundation for later critical research performed by David Hilbert, and several concepts and theorems are attributed to him. Fredholm was born on April 7, 1866, in Stockholm, Sweden. His family was upper-middle-class; his father was a well-to-do merchant, and his mother came from a cultured background. He was privy to the highest quality education available in his country and proved gifted. In 1885 he began studies at the Polytechnic Institute in Stockholm, where he developed what turned out to be a lifelong interest in problems of practical mechanics. He remained at the Institute for only one year and enrolled in the University of Uppsala in 1886, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1888.

Fredholm received his doctorate from Uppsala in 1898, although he conducted the bulk of his studies under Mittag-Leffler at the University of Stockholm. At that time, Uppsala...