The first lectures in Italy on Galois theory: Bologna, 1886-1887 (Q1818238)

The life and works of Evariste Galois are still a subject of great interest for the historians of mathematics. In this paper Laura Martini turns her attention to the spreading of Galois theory in Italy and points out the first public lessons on Galois theory given by Cesare Arzelà (1847-1912) at the University of Bologna during the academic year 1886-1887. The audience that year included a student who later became famous as a mathematician and historian of mathematics, Ettore Bortolotti (1866-1947), Bortolotti compiled the text of the lectures; the set of notes forms a substantial volume, entitled Teoria delle sostituzioni, now held in the Bortolotti Library of the University of Bologna's Department of Mathematics. The paper accurately describes these lecture notes and also investigates the sources from which they are drawn. The author also reports on Galois theory in the European curriculum and on algebra at Bologna in the 1880s. This paper is very valuable not only for the novelty it presents but also for the accurate picture it gives of the spreading of Galois theory in Europe in the second part of the 19th century.