By Saurav Pandey | December 22, 2024
Born on December 22, 1887, in Erode, Tamil Nadu, Ramanujan showcased his mathematical brilliance early, mastering trigonometry at just 12 years old.
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Despite his prodigious talent, he struggled with formal education due to his disinterest in non-mathematical subjects, leading to academic setbacks at institutions like Government Arts College and Pachaiyappa College.
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In 1912, while working as a clerk at Madras Port Trust, his mathematical genius was noticed by colleagues, one of whom connected him to G.H. Hardy at Cambridge University.
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In 1913, Ramanujan corresponded with Hardy, who recognized his talent. This collaboration led to Ramanujan joining Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1914.
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Ramanujan’s work covered groundbreaking areas such as infinite series, continued fractions, number theory, and mathematical analysis, with over 3,900 theorems and results independently compiled by him.
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Ramanujan became the first Indian Fellow of Trinity College in 1918 and was elected to both the London Mathematical Society (1917) and the Royal Society (1918) for his contributions to mathematics.
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He made notable contributions to the hypergeometric series, Riemann series, elliptic integrals, divergent series, and the zeta function.
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An iconic anecdote involves the number 1729, which Ramanujan explained as the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways. This became known as the Hardy-Ramanujan number.
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Ramanujan returned to India in 1919 due to deteriorating health and passed away on April 26, 1920, at the age of 32, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire mathematicians worldwide.
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His life inspired Robert Kanigel’s biography The Man Who Knew Infinity and a 2015 film of the same name, starring Dev Patel, which brought his journey and achievements to a global audience.
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