Abel and his mathematics in contexts. (Q1862651)

On the occasion of Abel's 200th birthday the author gives an overview about Abel's life and his works. To do this he intertwines known biographical facts with an analysis of the mathematical results which Abel attained according to the stage of his life. He emphasizes that Abel's works manifest the tranformation of mathematics in the 1820s. In this context he focuses upon the following two aspects: firstly, Abel introduced a new way of asking questions which sometimes gave rise to new kind of answers. Secondly, the reflection of a general revision as an integral part of the transformation by Abel's call for and use of new methods in obtaining results. In the second part of the article he deepens his investigations by discussing some details in a mathematical and an extra-mathematical context. He combines this with an outline of some of the many, older and newer, publications on Abel and his work.