Abel Prize

History

The prize was first proposed in 1899 by Sophus Lie after it was discovered that Nobel Prizes would not include mathematics. In 1902, King Oscar II offered to finance the prize, but the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway in 1905 halted the plan. In 2001, the Government of Norway formally established the Abel Prize. An honorary prize was awarded to Atle Selberg in 2002, and the first official prize was awarded to Jean-Pierre Serre in 2003. A book series on laureates and their research began in 2010. Karen Uhlenbeck became the first female laureate in 2019, and in 2025 Masaki Kashiwara became the first Japanese recipient.