Differential equations and algebraic transcendents: french efforts at the creation of a Galois theory of differential equations 1880–1910
A “Galois theory” of differential equations was first proposed by Émile Picard in 1883. Picard, then a young mathematician in the course of making his name, sought an analogue to Galois’s theory of polynomial equations for linear differential equations with rational coefficients. His main results were limited by unnecessary hypotheses, as was shown in 1892 by his student Ernest Vessiot, who both improved Picard’s results and altered his approach, leading Picard to assert that his lay closest to...