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Poincaré entered the École Polytechnique in 1873, graduating in 1875. Henri was described by his mathematics teacher as a "monster of mathematics" and he won first prizes in the concours général, a competition between the top pupils from all the Lycées across France.
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He spent eleven years at the Lycée and during this time he proved to be one of the top students in every topic he studied. In 1862 Henri entered the Lycée in Nancy (now renamed the Lycée Henri Poincaré in his honour ). He received special instruction from his gifted mother and excelled in written composition while still in elementary school. ambidextrous and was nearsighted during his childhood he had poor muscular coordination and was seriously ill for a time with diphtheria.
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The second of Antoine Poincaré's sons, Lucien Poincaré, achieved high rank in university administration. Raymond Poincaré, who was prime minister of France several times and president of the French Republic during World War I, was the elder son of Léon Poincaré's brother Antoine Poincaré. Léon Poincaré's family produced other men of great distinction during Henri's lifetime. Henri was born in Nancy where his father was Professor of Medicine at the University. They were 26 and 24 years of age, respectively, at the time of Henri's birth. Biography Henri Poincaré's father was Léon Poincaré and his mother was Eugénie Launois.