Axel Thue in context (Q888171)

This is a very detailed and well researched article on an important Norwegian number theorist who so far has found only little attention among historians of mathematics. The latter fact is partly to be explained by Thue's work in isolation and by the particularities of his mathematical practice. The author, a well-known historian of number theory, emphasizes the need to distinguish between these two factors. She adds that Thue inherited not only questions but also research practices from his predecessors and teachers. She devotes a conspicuous part of her article to Thue's teacher, the geometer Elling Holst (1849--1915), of whom the paper reproduces a beautiful and large picture. Holst, a student and protégé of Sophus Lie, did not only found an influential mathematical seminar in Kristiania (now Oslo) in 1886, where Thue gave fifteen talks, particularly on the transcendence and irrationality of \(\mathrm e\) and \(\pi\). Holst was also an author of picture books for children. The author discusses Thue's ``Wanderjahre'', in particular his study with Leopold Kronecker (1823--1891) in Berlin shortly before the latter's death. She analyzes in detail Thue's paper on the approximation of algebraic numbers, which appeared 1909 in German in the Crelle Journal [JFM 40.0265.01]. Finally, a celebrated application of Thue's main theorem on Diophantine equations is discussed. Throughout, the article is based not only on original publications but also on materials in Norwegian archives and libraries and on secondary literature written in Norwegian, including interesting facsimile reproductions.