Richard Birkeland

Richard Birkeland (6 June 1879 – 10 April 1928) was a Norwegian mathematician, author and professor. He is known for his contributions to the theory of algebraic equations.

Richard Birkeland (1879 – 1928)

Biography

He was born at Farsund in Vest-Agder, Norway. He was the son of Theodor Birkeland (1834-1913) and Therese Karoline Overwien (1846-1883). He graduated from the Christiania Technical School in 1899. In 1906, he received a scholarship to study mathematics in Paris and Göttingen. He became a professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1910. He was rector of the Norwegian Institute of Technology and from 1923 professor at the University of Oslo. [1]

He was a co-founder of the Norwegian Mathematical Society in 1918 and he was its vice chairman in the early years. He was for a time chairman of Trondheim Polytechnic Association. He was decorated Knight of the Order of St. Olav.[2]

Selected works

Personal life

He was a cousin of physics professor Kristian Birkeland (1867-1917). In 1909, he married Agnes Hoff (1883-1980). Their son Øivind (1910-2004) was a civil engineer.[3]

References
  1. Birkeland, Bent. "Richard Birkeland". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  2. Godal, Anne Marit (ed.). "Richard Birkeland". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  3. "Kristian Birkeland". viten.no/biografi. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
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