Srinivasa Ramanujan: India’s Mathematical Guru

 Self-taught Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan changed the face of mathematics with his contributions to the field. His discoveries like number fractions, analysis, and theory gave a new outlook to mathematicians around the world. His number theory not only changed the field of mathematics but also lead to many discoveries in physics, making his work a ground-breaking path for many future theories and logic. We bring to you the life of the famous genius.

          Things you need to know about Srinivasa Ramanujan

• Srinivasa Ramanujan was born into a family of Brahmins on 22 December 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu. His father was an accountant and his mother worked as a singer in the temple. Ramanujan endured extreme poverty and difficulties as a child but this didn’t stop his thirst for mathematics. His ever hard-working spirit saw him school himself at home from a very young age.
• Ramanujan went to the Kumbakonam Town High School where with access to books in mathematics he started educating himself. By the age of 12, he had discovered his own method of solving quadratic equations which were a sign of the great things to come from his fantastic mind.
• L. Loney’s book on trigonometry was mastered by him at the age of 13 and at 14 the child prodigy started receiving various academic awards and merit certificates.
• Ramanujan was offered a scholarship to study at the Government Arts College, but he was too interested in Maths to focus on any other. Hence, he ended up losing his scholarship.
• Despite extreme ill-health, Ramanujan didn’t give up his pursuit of more success. He finally found success in 1913 when he contacted English mathematician GH Hardy at the University of Cambridge in England.
• Astonished by Ramanujan’s mindboggling works, Mr. Hardy called him to Cambridge. Ramanujan became the first Indian to be elected as a Fellow Of Trinity College, Cambridge.
• In 1916, Ramanujan was awarded the B.A. Degree by the research of the Cambridge University
• Ramanujan went on to do a plethora of work from thereon. The scope of his work was such that he is known to have compiled 3900 identities and equations all on his known. He is famous for discovering the Landau-Ramanujan constant and Ramanujan’s master theorem.
• Ramanujan had even calculated the length of the earth’s equator.
• Ramanujan’s immense contribution to the field was honored with the number 1729 being called Hardy-Ramanujan. Biographical films in Tamil along with a Hollywood movie have been released on his amazing life.
• The Ramanujan Museum in 1992 was started in the Avvai Kalai Kazhagam in Royapuram.