The Mathematician Sophus Lie

Book Description
Sophus Lie (1842-1899) was without doubt one of Norway's greatest scientific talents. The terms Lie groups and Lie algebra are today part of the standard mathematical vocabulary. In his comprehensive biography, Arild Stubhaug lets us come close to both the person Sophus Lie and his time. We follow him through childhood at the vicarage in Nodfjordeid, his growing up in Moss, school and studying in Christiania, traveling in Europe and his contacts with the leading mathematicians of his time. The academic and scientific career brought Lie from Christiania to Leipzig as professor, before the attempt to call him back to Norway, when she stood on the threshold to national sovereignty, was successful.


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Sophus Lie was not only an intellectual force, but also garnered renown for his physical strength and endurance. He was among the early pioneers of hiking in Norway and he participated with vigour in peasant weddings and other celebrations that he encountered on his foot tours. While he was walking across France during the Franco-Prussian War, he found himself arrested on suspicion of being a German spy. This event made him "famous across the land" at home in Norway. Sophus Lie was a man of abundant complexity such that he also harboured heavy black thoughts - Arild Stubhaug gives us insights into all sides of his nature. What is of considerable interest in relation to cultural history is the description of Sophus Lie's courting of the woman who, after considering the matter during a lengthy engagement, would become his life's companion. Lie's letters from this period give a unique glimpse both of the customs of the day and of a multi-faceted personality.


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