Bernt Michael Holmboe

Bernt Michael Holmboe (23 March 1795 – 28 March 1850) was a Norwegian mathematician. He was home-tutored 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. Holmboe's 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 Abel's early death. Holmboe moved to the Royal Frederick University in 1826, where he worked until his own death in 1850.

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 i Valdres 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. 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". 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'). The prize is administered by the board of the Norwegian Mathematical Society. The current board chairman is Tom Lindstrøm, professor at the University of Oslo.

A street at Majorstuen in Oslo, Holmboes gate, has been named after Bernt Michael Holmboe. Before 1879 it was named Hansteens gate, after Christopher Hansteen.

Personal life Holmboe married twice. He died in 1850.

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