It is believed by many that Galois penned down his ideas in a letter to his friend the day before his death. He even asked his friend to take that letter to the great Gauss, not to verify its contents but to justify its relevance in that era. What did Gauss reply?
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7$\begingroup$ This is a myth invented by E.T.Bell, Galois penned his ideas long before the duel. $\endgroup$– ConifoldCommented Aug 28, 2018 at 17:59
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1$\begingroup$ Possible duplicate of Did Cauchy forget or lose mathematical papers aside from Abel's and Galois's? $\endgroup$– ConifoldCommented Aug 28, 2018 at 17:59
1 Answer
Galois wrote his famous testamentary letter on 29 May 1832, one day before the duel, to his friend Auguste Chevalier. At the end of the letter he wrote:
You will publicly ask Jacobi or Gauss to give their opinion not on the truth but on the importance of the theorems. After that there will, I hope, be people who will find profit in deciphering all this mess.
Chevalier has never asked Jacobi or Gauss publicly. Nothing about Galois' theory has been found in Jacobi or Gauss' possessions after their deaths.