Named in memory of the famous Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829). In 1824 he proved the impossibility of solving a general equation of the fifth degree by radicals. Through his friendship with the editor Crelle, who encouraged him in his work, he wrote his masterpiece Recherches sur les fonctions elliptiques (1827), from which he could prove that Jacobi’s {see planet  (12040)} work on elliptic integrals were consequences of his own work. It is interesting to note that neither Gauss {see planet  (1001)} nor Cauchy showed interest in Abel’s work. (M 34347) _ _.