Niels Erik Nørlund

Niels Erik Nørlund ( born October 26, 1885 in Slagelse; † 4 July 1981) was a Danish mathematician and astronomer.

Life

He studied up to his doctorate at the University of Copenhagen. 1921/22, he was professor at the University of Lund and from 1922 to 1956 at the University of Copenhagen and in addition from 1928 to 1955 director of the Geodetic Institute. In the academic year 1933/34, he served as rector of the university.

His mathematical interests were mainly in the field of calculus of finite differences and the theory of infinite series. He examined faculty ranks, Euler and Bernoulli polynomials.

Nørlund estimated tasteful surroundings and had a beautiful apartment with an extensive library. He loved books in beautiful bindings. His library he bequeathed a few years before his death, the University of Odense (since 1988 University of Southern Denmark ).

In 1920 he gave a plenary lecture at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Strasbourg ( Sur les équations aux différences Finies ).

From 1927 to 1933 Nørlund was president of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences. > He was a member of numerous other academies, including the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Physio Graphic Society in Lund, the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society, the Royal Astronomical Society and the Leopoldina.

Writings

• Lectures on calculus of finite differences. Springer -Verlag, Berlin, 1924.
• Survey work in Greenland, Iceland and Denmark. Darmstadt 1939.
• The logarithmic solutions of the hypergeometric equation. Mat fys. Skr. K. danske Vidensk. Selsk. 5, 1963, pp. 1-58.