National Mathematics Day 2022: India is celebrating National Mathematics Day today to mark the 145th birth anniversary of the great mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who was born on December 22, 1887. In 2012, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared 22 December as National Mathematics Day to honor Ramanujan’s life and achievements. , Considered one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century, Ramanujan is known for his contributions to number theory and mathematical analysis.
Here’s what you need to know about that day and about Ramanujan:
- Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in a Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family on December 22, 1887, in Erode, Tamil Nadu. He developed a liking for mathematics at a very young age. After mastering trigonometry at the age of 12, he was eligible for a scholarship to the Government Arts College, Kumbakonam.
- His excellence in mathematics was recognized after he began working as a clerk at the Madras Port Trust in 1912, then was apprenticed to Professor GH Hardy at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
- Ramanujan received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from Trinity College in 1916.
- He was elected to the London Mathematical Society in 1917. The next year, he was elected to the prestigious Royal Society for his research on elliptic functions and the theory of numbers.
- In 1918, he became the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College. He returned to India in 1919.
- A year later, on April 26, he breathed his last due to deteriorating health. He was only 32 years old. His biography ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ by Robert Kanigel depicts his life and journey to fame.
- Ramanujan compiled his own theorems and 3900 results independently.
- In 2012, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared 22 December as National Mathematics Day to honor Srinivasa Ramanujan.
- A film of the same name was released in 2015 in which Dev Patel played the role of Ramanujan. The film throws light on Ramanujan’s childhood in India, his career in Britain and his journey to become a great mathematician.