Évariste Galois

The Mozart of Mathematics

There’s a saying: “Whom the Gods love die young”. But no death is as heart-wrenching as that of Évariste Galois, the illustrious French mathematician and revolutionary, who died in a duel at the tender age of 20.

Galois was born in Bourg-la-Reine near Paris on October 25, 1811. At the age of 10, he was offered a place at the Université de Reims, but his mother preferred to keep him at home. She tutored him until the age of 12, when he was sent to Paris to continue his studies at Collège Royal Louis-le-Grand. 
Galois’s mathematical aptitude became apparent at age 14 when he found a copy of Adrien-Marie Legendre’s Éléments de Géométrie which he mastered in the first reading. By the time he was 15, he was able to study and understand the original works of eminent mathematicians like Joseph-Louis Lagrange and Niels Abel. He published his first mathematics paper – on continued fractions – when he was barely 17 years old. 
In 1828, Galois took the competitive entrance exams of the prestigious École Polytechnique, but failed. A year later, few weeks after his father committed suicide, he took the exams again. One part of the exams was an oral test where students were quizzed by two professors of the institution. As the story goes, during the oral exam, a heated argument on a mathematical point ensued between Galois and one of the professors. Convinced that the professor was wrong but was not admitting it, Galois lost his temper and threw the chalkboard eraser at the professor’s face. That was the end of his dream to get into École Polytechnique. 
Eric Temple Bell, a science fiction writer and mathematician, wrote in his book Men of Mathematics, “People not fit to sharpen his pencils sat on judgement of him.” Later, Galois gained admission to the École Normal Supérieure, only to be expelled after one year for joining the revolutionary parties of the school. 
Being a hot-headed political firebrand – a radical Republican during the reign of Louis Philippe in France – Galois joined the artillery unit of the National Guard in December 1830. As the unit was staunchly Republican, it was disbanded four weeks later out of fear that its members might destabilise the monarchy.
On Bastille Day when Galois showed up at a protest march wearing his old National Guard uniform, he was arrested and jailed for illegally wearing the uniform. In fact he was jailed twice for his revolutionary activities.
In March 1832, a cholera epidemic swept across Paris and prisoners, including Galois, were transferred to the pension Sieur Faultrier. There he fell in love with 17-year-old Stephanie-Felice du Motel, daughter of the resident physician.  However, in a letter to his friend Auguste Chevalier, a despondent Galois alluded that du Motel did not love him.  
Soon after being released from the pension, Galois was challenged to a duel by du Motel’s fiancé, Perscheux d’Herbinville. After the duel on the morning of May 30, 1832, a farmer found Galois lying on the ground in a wooded area of Paris with a gunshot wound in the abdomen. He died in a hospital in the early hours of the following morning at the age of just 20.
Although there have been many accounts of the circumstances that led to the fatal duel, according to French writer Alexandre Dumas, the challenger was indeed du Motel’s fiancé. 
Galois’ last words to his younger brother Alfred were: “Don’t cry, Alfred! I need all my courage to die at twenty.”
Despite his short life, Galois produced highly significant work, such as laying the foundations for what became known as group theory which today is of fundamental importance in physics. He also worked in abstract algebra and solved a long-standing problem relating to polynomials.  Even after the fatal duel, he stayed up all night writing a letter to Chevalier, outlining his thoughts on some of his unfinished work. 
It wasn’t until long after Galois’ death that his genius began to be recognised. Only recently has he begun to receive due appreciation for his groundbreaking contributions to mathematics. His collected papers run to only 60 pages, but they are so full of ideas that even today mathematicians feed off them profitably. His tour de force – known as Galois Theory – is probably comprehensible only to the brilliant minds. 
Known as the ‘Mozart of Mathematics’, biographers characterise Galois as a “misunderstood genius and victim of the establishment”. They blame his arrogance, erratic behavior and self-destructive tendencies for the tragedies of his life. 

The writer is Professor of Physics at Fordham University, New York.

Évariste Galois

The Mozart of Mathematics

Theres a saying: Whom the Gods love die young. But no death is as heart-wrenching as that of variste Galois, the illustrious French mathematician and revolutionary, who died in a duel at the tender age of 20. Galois was born in Bourg-la-Reine near Paris on October 25, 1811. At the age of 10, he was offered a place at the Universit de Reims, but his mother preferred to keep him at home. She tutored him until the age of 12, when he was sent to Paris to continue his studies at Collge Royal Louis-le-Grand. Galoiss mathematical aptitude became apparent at age 14 when he found a copy of Adrien-Marie Legendres lments de Gomtrie which he mastered in the first reading. By the time he was 15, he was able to study and understand the original works of eminent mathematicians like Joseph-Louis Lagrange and Niels Abel. He published his first mathematics paper on continued fractions when he was barely 17 years old. In 1828, Galois took the competitive entrance exams of the prestigious cole Polytechnique, but failed. A year later, few weeks after his father committed suicide, he took the exams again. One part of the exams was an oral test where students were quizzed by two professors of the institution. As the story goes, during the oral exam, a heated argument on a mathematical point ensued between Galois and one of the professors. Convinced that the professor was wrong but was not admitting it, Galois lost his temper and threw the chalkboard eraser at the professors face. That was the end of his dream to get into cole Polytechnique. Eric Temple Bell, a science fiction writer and mathematician, wrote in his book Men of Mathematics, People not fit to sharpen his pencils sat on judgement of him. Later, Galois gained admission to the cole Normal Suprieure, only to be expelled after one year for joining the revolutionary parties of the school. Being a hot-headed political firebrand a radical Republican during the reign of Louis Philippe in France Galois joined the artillery unit of the National Guard in December 1830. As the unit was staunchly Republican, it was disbanded four weeks later out of fear that its members might destabilise the monarchy. On Bastille Day when Galois showed up at a protest march wearing his old National Guard uniform, he was arrested and jailed for illegally wearing the uniform. In fact he was jailed twice for his revolutionary activities. In March 1832, a cholera epidemic swept across Paris and prisoners, including Galois, were transferred to the pension Sieur Faultrier. There he fell in love with 17-year-old Stephanie-Felice du Motel, daughter of the resident physician. However, in a letter to his friend Auguste Chevalier, a despondent Galois alluded that du Motel did not love him. Soon after being released from the pension, Galois was challenged to a duel by du Motels fianc, Perscheux dHerbinville. After the duel on the morning of May 30, 1832, a farmer found Galois lying on the ground in a wooded area of Paris with a gunshot wound in the abdomen. He died in a hospital in the early hours of the following morning at the age of just 20. Although there have been many accounts of the circumstances that led to the fatal duel, according to French writer Alexandre Dumas, the challenger was indeed du Motels fianc. Galois last words to his younger brother Alfred were: Dont cry, Alfred! I need all my courage to die at twenty. Despite his short life, Galois produced highly significant work, such as laying the foundations for what became known as group theory which today is of fundamental importance in physics. He also worked in abstract algebra and solved a long-standing problem relating to polynomials. Even after the fatal duel, he stayed up all night writing a letter to Chevalier, outlining his thoughts on some of his unfinished work. It wasnt until long after Galois death that his genius began to be recognised. Only recently has he begun to receive due appreciation for his groundbreaking contributions to mathematics. His collected papers run to only 60 pages, but they are so full of ideas that even today mathematicians feed off them profitably. His tour de force known as Galois Theory is probably comprehensible only to the brilliant minds. Known as the Mozart of Mathematics, biographers characterise Galois as a misunderstood genius and victim of the establishment. They blame his arrogance, erratic behavior and self-destructive tendencies for the tragedies of his life. The writer is Professor of Physics at Fordham University, New York.