MATHEMATICS DAY

Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887 and was

destined to become a brilliant mathematician. Over the course of his
life, he went on to develop thousands of his own formulas, many of
which have continued to be used in mathematics and science. In fact
his formulas are even used to understand the workings of black
holes.

Ramanujan’s thirst for mathematical knowledge was unquenchable.

By the age of 13, he had mastered a textbook by Professor Sidney
Luxton Loney on advanced trigonometry, or the study of
relationships involving the lengths and angles of triangles. Within a
couple of years he was discovering complex mathematical theories
on his own, creating his own formulas and even completed
mathematical examinations in less than half the allocated time.

Given his legacy as a great mathematician whose formulas still form

the basis of many advanced equations and theories, his life and work
have been celebrated in many ways. In 1962, the 75th anniversary of
his birth, the Government of India released a memorial postal stamp
in remembrance of his life and deeds. A new design of the stamp was
released

Learning institutions such as Government Arts College in

Kumbakonam and IIT Madras in Chennai celebrate his achievements
annually on what is referred to as Ramanujan Day. Various prizes for
young mathematicians have also been started in his name, for
example by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, the
SASTRA University and the Vasavi College of Engineering.

On December 22, 2011, the 125th anniversary of his birth, the

Government of India declared that December 22 would be
celebrated as ‘National Mathematics Day’ every year in honour of
Srinivasa Ramanujan.

 
 
MATHEMATICS DAY

INTERESTING FACTS
Ramanujan wrote down 17 ways to represent 1/pi as an infinite series. 

It is the smallest number expressible as a sum of two cubes in two different

ways. That is, 1729 = 1^3 + 12^3 = 9^3 + 10^3. This number is now called
the Hardy-Ramanujan number, and the smallest numbers that can be
expressed as the sum of two cubes in n different ways have been dubbed
taxicab numbers