en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89variste_Galois
2 corrections found
In that same year, he entered the École Normale
This date is off by a year: Galois failed the Polytechnique exam in 1828, but he entered the École préparatoire/École Normale in 1829, not 1828.
Full reasoning
Reliable biographical sources place Galois's admission to the École préparatoire (the temporary name of the École Normale at the time) in 1829.
- The EMS Press introduction to The mathematical writings of Évariste Galois gives a dated chronology: after his first failure at the École Polytechnique in August 1828, it states "November 1829: entered the École Préparatoire".
- Larousse likewise summarizes his biography as: "Après un double échec à l'École polytechnique, il entra en 1829 à l'École normale" (“After a double failure at the École Polytechnique, he entered the École Normale in 1829”).
- A peer-reviewed history-of-mathematics article is specifically titled "Évariste Galois, un candidat à l'École préparatoire en 1829", and its abstract says it analyzes his solution for the 1829 entrance competition.
So the sentence claiming he entered the school "in that same year" as the 1828 failed exam is incorrect; the entry was the following year, 1829.
3 sources
- The mathematical writings of Évariste Galois – Introduction
The chronology lists: "August 1828: failed to gain entrance to the École Polytechnique" and later "November 1829: entered the École Préparatoire (as the École Normale Supérieure was briefly called at that time)."
- Évariste Galois - Larousse
"Après un double échec à l'École polytechnique, il entra en 1829 à l'École normale."
- Évariste Galois, un candidat à l'École préparatoire en 1829
The article title and abstract identify Galois as a candidate for the École préparatoire in 1829 and discuss his 1829 entrance competition paper.
On 28 July 1829, Galois's father committed suicide
The date is wrong: Nicolas-Gabriel Galois died by suicide on July 2, 1829, not July 28, 1829.
Full reasoning
Multiple biographical sources give 2 July 1829 as the date of Nicolas-Gabriel Galois's suicide.
- MacTutor's biography of Évariste Galois says: "on 2 July 1829 his father committed suicide."
- MacTutor's separate page on the Galois family likewise states that Nicolas-Gabriel Galois "died on 2 July 1829" and that "on 2 July 1829 he committed suicide by asphyxiation by gas."
- The long text of Paul Dupuy's classic biography, preserved on French Wikisource, states that he "s'asphyxia ... le 2 juillet 1829".
So the article's statement placing the suicide on 28 July 1829 is off by 26 days.
3 sources
- Évariste Galois (1811 - 1832) - Biography - MacTutor History of Mathematics
"Tragedy was to strike Galois for on 2 July 1829 his father committed suicide."
- Galois family - MacTutor History of Mathematics
The family page says Nicolas-Gabriel Galois "died on 2 July 1829 in Paris" and that "on 2 July 1829 he committed suicide by asphyxiation by gas."
- La vie d’Évariste Galois/Texte entier
Paul Dupuy's text states: "... le 2 juillet 1829 ... il s’asphyxia dans l’appartement qu’il avait à Paris..."