Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) was a Norwegian mathematician who proved that fifth and higher order equations have no algebraic solution. Had he not died prematurely, it is speculated that he might have become one of the most prominent mathematicians of the 19th century. He provided the first general proof of the binomial theorem and made significant discoveries concerning elliptic functions

Abel was born in Finnöy, on the southwestern coast of Norway, on August 5, 1802. He was the second son of Sören Georg Abel, a Lutheran minister, and Anne Marie nee Sorensen, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Abel's father was appointed to a new parish in 1804, and the family moved to the town of Gjerstad, in southern Norway. Abel received his early education from his father. In 1815, he was sent to the Cathedral School in Oslo, where he soon developed a passion for mathematics. In...