Évariste Galois

Evariste Galois was challenged to a duel where he was shot in his abdomen on 30 May 1832. The practice of settling disputes by duels was very common those days in France. He died of his injuries the next day.

There are various theories about why the duel was called and why Galois accepted the duel. Some beliefs point to a State secret agent who called the duel between fellow republicans.

Another theory states that he was romantically involved with his physician’s daughter, Mademoiselle Poterin du Motel, and it was at her instigation that he challenged someone for a duel and as a result was killed.

EvaristeGalois was born to Nicolas-Gabriel Galois and Adélaïde-Marie on 25 October 1811 in Bourg-la-Reine, French Empire. Both his parents were well educated and embraced liberal revolutionary principles.

His father was amiable and highly philosophical in nature;he directed a school educating about sixty boarders. He was later elected mayor of Bourg-la-Reine.

His mother, Adelaïde-Marie, was from a family of jurists and had received a more traditional education; she was well-versed in Latin and Classical Literature. She had a headstrong personality and was eccentric, even considered queer by many. Galois had a sister named Nathalie-Théodore and a brother called Alfred.

His mother took charge of his primary education. She sought to inculcate in him, along with the elements of classical culture and Literature, the principles of an austere religion.

She home schooled him until the age of 12. She was reluctant to educate him in school, yet she registered him at Louis-le-Grand in Paris for his first formal education in 1823.

In 1829, Galois published his first paper on ‘Continued Fractions.’ It was around the same that that he was researching on the ‘Theory of Polynomial Equations.’ He submitted two papers on the latter, one on 25May and the other on the 1June to ‘Académie des Sciences’.

A renowned mathematician of Académie des Sciences, Augustin Louis Cauchy reviewed his paper but refused to publish it for unknown reasons that many believe was a result of his jealousy.

However, contrary to most beliefs,Cauchy simply suggested that Galois combine both papers to make it a more comprehensive theory, so that it could be entered into the competition for the ‘Academy's Grand Prize in Mathematics’.

Evariste Galois suffered a major tragedy soon after. His father committed suicide on 2 July 1829 following a lethal argument with the priest of Bourg-la-Reine.

Apparently, the priest had forged Mayor Galois's name on libellous epigrams. Galois's father was a respectable man and the scandal was beyond his tolerance, thus he hanged himself to death. His father’s sudden demise had a shattering effect and stained his life for the years to come.