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.
References
- Birkeland, Bent. "Richard Birkeland". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- Godal, Anne Marit (ed.). "Richard Birkeland". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- "Kristian Birkeland". viten.no/biografi. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
   | This biographical article about a Norwegian academic is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This article about a mathematician is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- 1879 births
- 1928 deaths
- People from Farsund
- Norwegian mathematicians
- Norwegian educators
- Academic staff of the University of Oslo
- Academic staff of the Norwegian Institute of Technology
- Rectors of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal
- Norwegian academic biography stubs
- Mathematician stubs