Ludvig Sylow | |
---|---|
Born | Peter Ludvig Meidell Sylow 12 December 1832 |
Died | 7 September 1918 Christiania, Norway | (aged 85)
Nationality | Norwegian |
Alma mater | University of Christiania |
Known for | Sylow theorems |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics |
Peter Ludvig Meidell Sylow (IPA: [ˈsyːlɔv]) (12 December 1832 – 7 September 1918) was a Norwegian mathematician who proved foundational results in group theory.[1]
Sylow processed and further developed the innovative works of mathematicians Niels Henrik Abel and Évariste Galois in algebra. Sylow theorems and p-groups, known as Sylow subgroups, are fundamental in finite groups.[2] By profession, Sylow was a teacher at the Frederiksborg Latin School for 40 years from 1858 to 1898, and then a professor at the University of Oslo for 20 years from 1898 to 1918.[1] Despite the isolation in Frederiksborg, Sylow was an active member of the mathematical world. He wrote a total of approximately 25 mathematical and biographical works, corresponded with many of the leading mathematicians of the time, and was an able co-editor of Acta Mathematica from the journal's start in 1882.[1] He was also elected into the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 1868, a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen and the University of Copenhagen awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1894.[1][2]