Ole Peder Arvesen (27 March 1895 – 23 January 1991) was a Norwegian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

. Arvesen was born in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

. He was appointed professor of

descriptive geometry Descriptive geometry is the branch of geometry which allows the representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions by using a specific set of procedures. The resulting techniques are important for engineering, architecture, design and ...

at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...

from 1938 to 1965. He served as secretary general of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The s ...

from 1950 to 1966, having been a fellow since 1934, and was also a fellow of the

Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences The Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences ( no, Norges Tekniske Vitenskapsakademi, NTVA) is a learned society based in Trondheim, Norway. Founded in 1955, the academy has about 500 members. It is a member of the International Council of Aca ...

. Among his publications are ''Under Duskens billedbok'' (''Under the Dusk picture book'') from 1928, the textbook ''Innføring i nomografi'' (''Introduction to

nomography A nomogram (from Greek , "law" and , "line"), also called a nomograph, alignment chart, or abac, is a graphical calculating device, a two-dimensional diagram designed to allow the approximate graphical computation of a mathematical function. ...

'') from 1932, ''Mennesker og matematikere'' (''People and mathematicians'') from 1940, ''Glimt av den store karikatur'' (''Glimpse of the great caricature'') from 1941, and the memoir book ''Men bare om løst og fast'' (''But just about this and that'') from 1976. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav in 1965. A portrait of Arvesen, painted by

Agnes Hiorth Agnes Hiorth (5 May 1899 – 30 November 1984) was a Norwegian painter. Her art was characterized by impressionistic broad brush and harmoniously palette of landscapes, as well as a wide range of cultivated and accurate portraits. Biography Agn ...

, is located at the

Student Society in Trondheim The Student Society in Trondheim ( no, Studentersamfundet i Trondhjem, Samfundet for short) is Norway's largest student society. Besides housing a café, a restaurant, several bars and frequently hosting concerts and other activities (among t ...

, where he was an active participant over many years.

References

1895 births 1991 deaths People from Fredrikstad 20th-century Norwegian engineers Norwegian mathematicians Norwegian textbook writers Mathematics writers Norwegian memoirists Falstad concentration camp survivors Academic staff of the Norwegian Institute of Technology Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Members of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences {{europe-mathematician-stub