Richard Birkeland

Richard Birkeland (1879 – 1928)

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.

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.

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.

Selected works

• Sur certaines singularités des équations différentielles (1909)
• Lærebok i matematisk analyse : differential- og integralregning, differentialligninger tillæg (1917)

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.