In 1832, the mathematician Evariste Galois became involved with a woman (Stephanie-Felicie Poterine du Motel) who was already engaged to Pescheux d'Herbinville. When he discovered the infidelity d'Herbinville, one of the finest shots in France, promptly challenged Galois to a duel. The mathematician was struck in the intestines and was taken to a hospital, where he was visited by his family. When his younger brother began to weep, Galois interjected. "Don't cry," he pleaded. "I need all my courage to die at twenty."
[Galois soon died of peritonitis; his revolutionary mathematical work was published posthumously.]
[Galois' impulsive nature had long been a problem. When Galois was rejected by the Ecole Polytechnique, he reapplied and was granted a second interview. Sensing that he was about to be failed for a second time, he lost his temper and threw a blackboard eraser at
his examiner... Galois was not only a mathematical genius but also a dedicated revolutionary. Ironically, a wag once declared, he proved that many problems cannot be solved by 'radicals'.]
Sources
E. T. Bell, Men of Mathematics; S. Singh, Fermat`s Enigma
