Srinivasa Ramanujan's work has had a fundamental role in the development of modern mathematics. Today is his 131st birth anniversary, an occasion that is celebrated as National Mathematics Day every year. Here are some of The Hindu ’s articles on Ramanujan.
In pictures: The Hindu and Ramanujan
The Hindu followed the mathematical career of Ramanujan in detail and highlighted his genius, especially from early 1914.
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The legacy of Srinivasa Ramanujan
The story of Srinivasa Ramanujan is a 20th century “rags to mathematical riches” story. In his short life, Ramanujan had a wealth of ideas that have transformed and reshaped 20th century mathematics. These ideas continue to shape mathematics of the 21st century.
In his famous 1913 letter to Hardy, Ramanujan attached 120 theorems as a representative sample of his work. Some of these formulas Hardy had already seen in the course of his own research work. But many of the other formulas, he had not. It took over two hours for him to analyse the letter in order to determine if it was written by a crank or a genius.
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Did Ramanujan fail in math?
How did Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920), the mathematical genius, fare in his Intermediate examinations? Did he fail in mathematics? Or did he score a centum? Conflicting assertions float. Myths hover around geniuses and lend them an aura, and Ramanujan is no exception.
C.P. Snow, the young friend of Ramanujan’s primary benefactor and mentor G.H. Hardy, in his preface to Hardy’s remarkable memoir, A Mathematician’s Apology , remarks that “Hardy did not forget that he was in the presence of a genius: but genius that was, even in mathematics, almost untrained. Ramanujan had not been able to enter Madras University because he could not matriculate in English.”
In search of the man who knew infinity
At the age of 31, Ramanujan was one of the youngest members of Britain’s Royal Society and the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University. Despite no formal training in the subject, Ramanujan made significant contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions.
To get an overview of the prodigy’s life, head to the House of Ramanujan Mathematics, situated inside Srinivasa Ramanujan Centre (SRC), an affiliate campus of the Thanjavur-based Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy (SASTRA) Deemed University in Kumbakonam.
This is where Ramanujan was born
It is widely known that just after sunset, on December 22, 1887, the math genius Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in his maternal grandmother’s home in Erode. This house remained untraced until recently. But it has now been located, thanks to the efforts of Susumu Sakurai, professor and head, Department of Math, Tokyo University of Science and Technology, and Dr. N. Mani, professor, Government Arts College, Erode, and president, Tamil Nadu Science Forum.
“In the West, such a house would have been converted into a museum for math, but in our country, it stands neglected. The authorities should at least consider naming the street where this house is located after the genius. Otherwise this valuable piece of history might be forgotten by future generations,” remarks Prof. R. Sivaraman, founder, Pie Mathematics Association.
In pictures: Ramanujan’s childhood abode
Kumbakonam remembers the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan who brought glory to this humble town in Tamil Nadu.
American mathematicians have solved Ramanujan’s deathbed puzzle
American researchers claim to have solved a cryptic formula that renowned mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan believed came to him in dreams while on his deathbed.
The formula was contained in a letter he wrote to his mentor, the English mathematician G.H. Hardy, from his deathbed in 1920 outlining several new mathematical functions that had never been heard of before, together with a theory about how they worked.