Ebook: Gösta Mittag-Leffler: A Man of Conviction

Gösta Mittag-Leffler (1846–1927) played a significant role on the world stage as both a scientist and entrepreneur. Regarded as the father of Swedish mathematics, his influence extended far beyond his chosen field because of his extensive network of international contacts in science, business, and the arts. His social and professional circles included such luminaries as Selma Lagerlöf, Albert Einstein, Sonya Kovalevsky, Alfred Nobel, Karl Weierstrass, Henri Poincaré, and Marie Curie. (He was instrumental in seeing to it that the latter was awarded the Nobel Prize, not once but twice.) One of Mittag-Leffler’s major accomplishments was the founding of the journal Acta Mathematica in 1882. Today the journal is still published by Institut Mittag-Leffler and Sweden’s Royal Academy of Sciences, and it continues to be one of the most prestigious journals in mathematics. Arild Stubhaug’s research for this monumental biography of the Swedish mathematician relied on a wealth of primary and secondary resources, including more than 30000 letters that are part of the Mittag-Leffler archives. Written in a lucid and compelling manner, the biography contains many hitherto unknown facts about Mittag-Leffler’s personal life and professional endeavors. It will be of great interest to both mathematicians and general readers interested in science and culture.

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G?sta Mittag-Leffler (1846–1927) played a significant role on the world stage as both a scientist and entrepreneur. Regarded as the father of Swedish mathematics, his influence extended far beyond his chosen field because of his extensive network of international contacts in science, business, and the arts. His social and professional circles included such luminaries as Selma Lagerl?f, Albert Einstein, Sonya Kovalevsky, Alfred Nobel, Karl Weierstrass, Henri Poincar?, and Marie Curie. (He was instrumental in seeing to it that the latter was awarded the Nobel Prize, not once but twice.) One of Mittag-Leffler’s major accomplishments was the founding of the journal Acta Mathematica in 1882. Today the journal is still published by Institut Mittag-Leffler and Sweden’s Royal Academy of Sciences, and it continues to be one of the most prestigious journals in mathematics. Arild Stubhaug’s research for this monumental biography of the Swedish mathematician relied on a wealth of primary and secondary resources, including more than 30000 letters that are part of the Mittag-Leffler archives. Written in a lucid and compelling manner, the biography contains many hitherto unknown facts about Mittag-Leffler’s personal life and professional endeavors. It will be of great interest to both mathematicians and general readers interested in science and culture.

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G?sta Mittag-Leffler (1846–1927) played a significant role on the world stage as both a scientist and entrepreneur. Regarded as the father of Swedish mathematics, his influence extended far beyond his chosen field because of his extensive network of international contacts in science, business, and the arts. His social and professional circles included such luminaries as Selma Lagerl?f, Albert Einstein, Sonya Kovalevsky, Alfred Nobel, Karl Weierstrass, Henri Poincar?, and Marie Curie. (He was instrumental in seeing to it that the latter was awarded the Nobel Prize, not once but twice.) One of Mittag-Leffler’s major accomplishments was the founding of the journal Acta Mathematica in 1882. Today the journal is still published by Institut Mittag-Leffler and Sweden’s Royal Academy of Sciences, and it continues to be one of the most prestigious journals in mathematics. Arild Stubhaug’s research for this monumental biography of the Swedish mathematician relied on a wealth of primary and secondary resources, including more than 30000 letters that are part of the Mittag-Leffler archives. Written in a lucid and compelling manner, the biography contains many hitherto unknown facts about Mittag-Leffler’s personal life and professional endeavors. It will be of great interest to both mathematicians and general readers interested in science and culture.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-X
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Journey at the Turn of the Century....Pages 3-22
The House in Djursholm....Pages 23-37
Front Matter....Pages 39-39
Leffler and Mittag....Pages 41-44
G?sta’s Parents....Pages 45-51
The Teacher’s Family in Stockholm....Pages 53-60
Four Years at Stockholm Gymnasium....Pages 61-72
Front Matter....Pages 73-73
First Semester in Uppsala....Pages 75-83
Festivities and Student Drills....Pages 85-90
Summer on the West Coast....Pages 91-94
The Aristocracy of Lennartsn?s....Pages 95-103
Controversy over the Academic Degree Regulations....Pages 105-111
His Sister’s Debut and His Father’s Illness....Pages 113-120
First Trip Abroad....Pages 121-127
The Stablemaster at ?vrej?rva....Pages 129-132
Doctoral Degree....Pages 133-137
Docent in Uppsala....Pages 139-144
A Turning Point....Pages 145-148
With a Room in Paris....Pages 149-167
In G?ttingen....Pages 169-182
With a Base in Berlin....Pages 183-198
Front Matter....Pages 73-73
Traveling to Helsingfors....Pages 199-201
In the Finnish Capital....Pages 203-213
Waiting Time....Pages 215-221
Front Matter....Pages 223-223
Installation in Helsingfors, Anniversary Celebration in Uppsala....Pages 225-235
In “The Land Called Suomi”....Pages 237-247
First Encounter with Italy....Pages 249-252
Meeting Signe....Pages 253-264
Wedding and Honeymoon....Pages 265-276
New Roles in Stockholm....Pages 277-281
Sonya K. and the “Brilliant” Life....Pages 283-290
Winter Travels....Pages 291-296
Summer in Switzerland....Pages 297-315
Strife in the Academy of Sciences....Pages 317-319
Rector of the College....Pages 321-325
Social Entertainments Abound....Pages 327-332
A Terrible Summer....Pages 333-342
Involved in All Manner of Things....Pages 343-351
Traveling to Algeria....Pages 353-356
Front Matter....Pages 357-362
Meeting in Wernigerode....Pages 363-366
A New Shift in Stockholm....Pages 223-223
King Oscar’s Prize....Pages 367-372
New Efforts on Sonya’s Behalf....Pages 373-375
Front Matter....Pages 377-380
Construction in Djursholm....Pages 381-387
Sonya’s Death....Pages 389-389
Life Goes On – I....Pages 391-395
Donation to the College....Pages 397-404
Business Affairs, Birth and Death....Pages 405-409
Life Goes On – II....Pages 411-412
Battlefields....Pages 413-417
Celebrating His 50th Birthday....Pages 419-423
Seeking a “Practical, Useful Result”....Pages 425-430
A Marriage Teetering on the Brink....Pages 431-433
One Thing After Another....Pages 435-437
On the Verge of Bankruptcy....Pages 439-444
Celebrating Niels Henrik Abel....Pages 445-450
Two Funerals....Pages 451-458
The Nobel Prizes, Another Battle....Pages 459-469
The Almanac Dispute....Pages 471-478
Front Matter....Pages 479-483
Signe’s Inheritance....Pages 485-495
Political Ambitions and Huge Business Ventures....Pages 389-389
Celebrating His 60th Birthday....Pages 497-504
King Oscar’s Death....Pages 505-515
More Celebrations and More Disputes....Pages 517-522
The Big Poincar? Campaign....Pages 523-531
Front Matter....Pages 533-541
A New Home in the Dalarna Region....Pages 543-552
Travels, Congresses, Prizes....Pages 553-553
The Case Against Prime Minister Staaff....Pages 555-561
World War, Writing His Will and Testament....Pages 563-570
Establishment of a Mathematics Institute....Pages 571-577
International Cooperation After the War....Pages 579-590
Signe’s Death....Pages 591-600
Still on the Move....Pages 601-615
New Travels and Financial Setbacks....Pages 617-635
Last Years....Pages 637-645
Back Matter....Pages 647-657
....Pages 659-671