In 1804, Nicolas-Gabriel Galois joined the staff of the boarding school run by his father, Jacques Galois; the town, now Bourg-la-Reine, had been called Bourg-Égalité since 1801. In 1806, the boarding school became part of the Imperial University recently established by the Emperor. Jacques Galois died that same year, leaving his son in charge of the school. In 1808, Nicolas-Gabriel married his neighbor, Adelaïde-Marie Demante (1788–1871), daughter of the president of the court in Louviers (Eure). That same year, the young couple had their first child, a daughter named Nathalie. Their first son, whom they named Évariste, was born on October 25, 1811; a younger brother, Alfred, followed three years later.
Évariste's mother had a solid classical education and taught her eldest son at home. According to recollections gathered from members of the Galois family, Évariste was an amiable, serious and affectionate boy; following his father's example, he wrote sketches and songs for family celebrations.
Louis-Le-Grand
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At the age of 12, Évariste left the family nest for the Collège royal de Louis-Le-Grand, where he became a boarder in quatrième (eighth grade). The school was run along highly authoritarian lines and repeatedly shaken by student rebellions. In 1823, for example, students refused to sing during a service in the school chapel; in January 1824, they refused to toast the king, and 117 of them were mercilessly expelled.
During his first two years at the Collège royal, Évariste achieved excellent results in history, Greek and Latin. His success led his teachers to want to prepare him for the Concours général, a competition among what were considered the capital's most prestigious schools. During those two years, the brilliant student received very little instruction in mathematics. At the start of the 1825 school year, he entered tenth grade, where the mathematics course became more interesting.
