The Størmer Family

Abstract

Carl was born as the only child into a wealthy family. Legend has it that as a young boy his nurse strictly controlled everything he ate. Before reaching school age he was never allowed to put a bone of any kind into his mouth. From a very young age he was aware of having been gifted with a high degree of intelligence and was regularly urged to read and learn. His parents led him to perform scientific experiments then carefully write down what he had accomplished. Carl was an active student with a reputation for working hard on subjects he liked. He spent much of his summers travelling around Norway mixed with side trips to Denmark, where his mother had relatives. In 1895 he and his parents spent more than a month visiting five European countries (Fig. 9.1).