Évariste Galois was born 200 years ago and died aged 20, shot in a mysterious early-morning duel in 1832. He left contributions to the theory of equations that changed the direction of mathematics and led directly to what is now broadly described as 'modern' or 'abstract' algebra. In this lecture, designed for a general audience, Dr Peter Neumann will explain Galois' discoveries and place them in their historical context. Little knowledge of mathematics is assumed - the only prerequisite is sympathy for mathematics and its history.
For the transcript or download versions of this lecture, please visit the event’s page on the Gresham College
website: Évariste Galois
Bio
Dr. Peter Neumann
Dr. Peter Neumann is Emeritus Fellow of the Queen's College, Oxford. He is a former President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics and was the Chairman of the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust between 1996 and 2004.
Part of a class I am taking involves this particular subject and I am researching for information to use in an upcoming report. Your post is really helpful; do you have any others on this topic? Tony