Kristian Birkeland

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Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland
Portrait by Asta Nørregaard, 1900
Born	(1867-12-13)13 December 1867 Christiania, Norway
Died	15 June 1917(1917-06-15) (aged 49) Tokyo, Japan
Nationality	Norwegian
Citizenship	Kingdom of Norway (1867–1917)
Known for	Birkeland current Birkeland–Eyde process Research on Aurora borealis Coilgun Solar wind Substorm
Spouse	Ida Charlotte Hammer
Scientific career
Fields	Physics
Institutions	The Royal Frederick University

Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland (born 13 December 1867 – 15 June 1917) was a Norwegian space physicist, inventor, and professor of physics at the Royal Fredriks University in Oslo. He is best remembered for his theories of atmospheric electric currents that elucidated the nature of the aurora borealis. In order to fund his research on the aurorae, he invented the electromagnetic cannon and the Birkeland–Eyde process of fixing nitrogen from the air. Birkeland was nominated for the Nobel Prize seven times.^[1][2]