Bernt Michael Holmboe

Bernt Michael Holmboe was a Norwegian mathematician. He was hometutored from an early age, and was not enrolled in school until 1810. Following a short period at the Royal Frederick University, which included a stint as assistant to Christopher Hansteen, Holmboe was hired as a mathematics teacher at the Christiania Cathedral School in 1818, where he met the future renowned mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. Holmboes lasting impact on mathematics worldwide has been said to be his tutoring of Abel, both in school and privately. The two became friends and remained so until Abels early death. Holmboe moved to the Royal Frederick University in 1826, where he worked until his own death in 1850.

Bernt Michael Holmboe was born in Vang in 1795, the son of vicar Jens Holmboe and his wife Cathrine Holst . 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 Norways declaration of independence in the Constitution ofMay, 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

Source: Wikipedia