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Elling Holst

Norwegian mathematician (1849–1915)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ3354825
Source-derived summary

Elling Bolt Holst (19 July 1849 – 2 September 1915) was a Norwegian mathematician, biographer and children's writer.

Early and personal life

Holst was born in Drammen, Norway. He was a son of bookseller Adolph Theodor Holst and Amalie Fredrikke Bergh. He was a grandson of merchant and politician, member of the Storting, Elling Mathias Holst (1785–1852).

Holst enrolled as a student at the University of Christiania (now University of Oslo), his doctoral advisor was Sophus Lie, and he graduated as cand.real. in 1874. He continued his studies in Germany, where Felix Klein was among his teachers. He was appointed teacher at Aars og Voss skole in Christiania (now Oslo). His thesis Et par syntetiske Methoder, især til Brug ved Studiet af metriske Egenskaber was finished in 1882.

Career

Holst lectured in mathematics at the University of Oslo from 1894.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Elling Holst” as norwegian mathematician (1849–1915). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Elling, Holst and Norwegian.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1849, 1915, 1785, 1852—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1849-06-18, 1849-07-19—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Elling, Holst and Norwegian providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Elling Holst”, the useful work is to connect “norwegian mathematician (1849–1915)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3354825. VIAF identifies the subject as 8153224. The Library of Congress control number is n84805108. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1849, 1915, 1785 and 1852.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Elling Holst”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Elling Holst primary sources, Elling Holst archive and Elling research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Elling Holst”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Elling Holst” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.