Niels Henrik Abel and His Times, Called Too Soon by Flames Afar

摘要

On the 8th of April 1829, August Leopold Crelle had very good news for his friend and protege′ Nils Henrik Abel. Crelle’s year or so of frustrating efforts to secure a professorship at Berlin for Abel had finally borne fruit. The situation had become desperate, as Abel’s health had deteriorated. A frantic appeal to the university authorities had provoked a prompt and positive response. The situation now looked good indeed: A permanent and well-paid position would relieve Abel of the uncertainty and poverty that had distracted him from his mathematical work up to then. Furthermore, moving from the harsh environment of Norway to a more clement climate surely would spell a dramatic improvement to his failing health.