Évariste Galois
Évariste Galois | |
|---|---|
A portrait of Évariste Galois aged about 15 | |
| Born | Évariste Galois 25 October 1811 |
| Died | 31 May 1832 (aged 20) Paris, Kingdom of France |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wound to the abdomen |
| Alma mater | École préparatoire (no degree) |
| Known for | Work on theory of equations, group theory and Galois theory |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Signature | |
Évariste Galois (/ɡælˈwɑː/; French: [evaʁist ɡalwa]; 25 October 1811 – 31 May 1832) was a French mathematician and political activist. While still in his teens, he was able to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be solvable by radicals, thereby solving a problem that had been open for 350 years. His work laid the foundations for Galois theory and group theory, two major branches of abstract algebra.
Galois was a staunch republican and was heavily involved in the political turmoil that surrounded the French Revolution of 1830. As a result of his political activism, he was arrested repeatedly, serving one jail sentence of several months. For reasons that remain obscure, shortly after his release from prison, Galois fought in a duel and died of the wounds he suffered.