Bernt Michael Holmboe

Holmboe's significant impact on mathematics in the fledgling Norway was his textbook in two volumes for secondary schools. It was widely used, but faced competition from Christopher Hansteen's alternative offering, sparking what may have been Norway's first debate about school textbooks.

Early life and career

Bernt Michael Holmboe was born in Vang in 1795, the son of vicar Jens Holmboe (1746–1823) and his wife Cathrine Holst (1763–1823). He grew up in Eidsberg with his nine siblings, and was the elder brother of noted philologist Christopher Andreas Holmboe. Holmboe was homeschooled from an early age, but was sent to the Christiania Cathedral School in 1810 to complete his secondary education. There he undertook extracurricular studies in mathematics. He enrolled as a student at the Royal Frederick University in 1814, a turbulent year in Norwegian history. Norway had been a province of Denmark since 1397, but had come under Swedish control in the January 1814 Treaty of Kiel. Following Norway's declaration of independence in the Constitution of 17 May, Sweden responded by waging a military campaign against Norway during the summer of 1814. Holmboe was a spokesperson for the student group opposed to the presence of Swedish troops in the country. Any outspokenness from the student community was highly visible at the time, as the university had only seventeen students as of 1813, its year of establishment.

As well as his private studies, Holmboe attended lectures given by Søren Rasmusen. In 1815 he was appointed to the position of scientific assistant under Christopher Hansteen, a lecturer at the university, and delivered some lectures himself. In early 1818, Holmboe became a mathematics teacher at the Christiania Cathedral School, a position that had become vacant in 1817. The school principal, Jacob Rosted, had invited Holmboe's brother, Christopher Andreas, who had also studied mathematics, to take up the position, but he had decided instead to concentrate on philology; Christopher went on to research the Sanskrit language among others. In his teaching, Holmboe drew inspiration from Joseph-Louis Lagrange.

Niels Henrik Abel

At the Christiania Cathedral School, Holmboe met Niels Henrik Abel, then a pupil there. Holmboe quickly discovered Abel's talent, and proclaimed him as a "splendid genius" in his report card. The school's primary focus was on classical education and Latin, and so Holmboe tutored Abel privately. His personal support for Abel has been called "[Holmboe's] most important contribution to mathematics".

Holmboe and Abel became close friends. Two of Holmboe's younger brothers studied with Abel, and the three were also on friendly terms. Abel was invited to the Holmboe family residence in Eidsberg on several occasions, including to celebrate Christmas.

Abel died from tuberculosis in 1829, at the age of twenty-six. Ten years after Abel's death Holmboe edited and published his complete works in two volumes—Oeuvres complètes de N.H. Abel ('Complete Works of N.H. Abel'). He was the first to do so.