Évariste Galois

Évariste Galois (/ɡælˈwɑː/;[1] 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,[2] two major branches of abstract algebra.

Quick facts: Évariste Galois, Born, Died, Cause of de... ▼

Évariste Galois
A portrait of Évariste Galois aged about 15
Born	Évariste Galois (1811-10-25)25 October 1811 Bourg-la-Reine, French Empire
Died	31 May 1832(1832-05-31) (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

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.[3]