Remembering Mathematics Genius Srinivasa Ramanujan: The Man Who Knew Infinity

Celebrating National Mathematics Day 2023

Srinivasa Ramanujan (22 December 1887 – 26 April 1920) was an Indian mathematician, who made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions.

Loney's Trigonometry

By the time Ramanujan was 13, he could solve unaided every problem in Loneys Trigonometry, and at 14 he obtained the theorems for the sine and the cosine that had been anticipated by L Euler.

When he lost scholarship

Ramanujan became so absorbed in mathematics that when he entered the local government college in 1904 with a merit scholarship, he neglected his other subjects and lost the scholarship.

G H Hardy recognised

In January 1913 Ramanujan sent some of his work to G. H. Hardy, Cayley lecturer in mathematics at Cambridge. In Hardys opinion, if Ramanujans gift had been recognised early, he could have become one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.

A fellow of the Royal Society

His patience, memory, power of calculation, and intuition made him the greatest formalist of his day. In 1918 Ramanujan was elected a fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

Ranked with 100 on 100

Hardy liked to rank mathematicians on a scale of 1 to 100, and he gave himself 25, Littlewood 30, David Hilbert 80, and Ramanujan 100, which shows just how great Ramanujan was.

Back to India

However, the story goes that, Ramanujan’s health deteriorated greatly while he was in England, and he eventually had to travel back to India in 1919.

End of Genius

Ramanujan died a year later after coming from England, when he was only 33 years of age, although his work will be remembered for a long time.