Srinivasa Ramanujan Biography

[MysteRy]

Srinivasa Ramanujan Biography: He was born on 22 December 1887 at Erode, India to a Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family. He was an Indian greatest mathematician given contributions to number theory, functions, and infinite series. Let us have a look at childhood and early life, education, his contributions and major works, awards and achievements, etc.



 Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on (December 22, 1887, in Erode town, Tamil Nadu India). And he was an Indian greatest mathematician given contributions to number theory, functions, and infinite series.

National Mathematics Day is observed on 22 December annually to commemorate the birth anniversary of the great Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

In 2012, Dr. Manmohan Singh, then Prime Minister, declared December 22 as National Mathematics Day.

Srinivasa Ramanujan: Key Facts



Srinivasa Ramanujan: Childhood, and Early Life

He was born on 22 December 1887 into a Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family in Erode, Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu, India) at his maternal grandparent's residence. His father was K. Srinivasa Iyengar, an accounting clerk for a clothing merchant, and his mother was Komalatammal, a housewife and sang at a local temple.

The family was of high caste and was very poor. Srinivasa Ramanujan's parents moved around a lot, and so he attended a variety of different elementary schools.

In November 1897, he passed his primary examinations in English, Tamil, geography, and arithmetic, and gained vest scores in the district. He entered Town Higher Secondary School in the same year and encountered formal mathematics for the first time.

Srinivasa Ramanujan: Discovery as a Mathematician of Genius

At the age of 11, he had taken the mathematics knowledge of two college students who were lodgers at his home. Later, he lent a book written by S. L. Loney on advanced trigonometry. By the age of 13, he had mastered it and discovered his theorems on his own.

At 14 years of age, he received merit certificates and academic awards that continued throughout his school career. Also, he completed an exam in mathematics in half of the allotted time and showed familiarity with geometry and infinite series.

In 1902, he showed how to solve cubic equations. He also developed his own methods.

At the age of 15, he obtained a copy of George Shoobridge Carr’s Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics, 2 vol. It consists of thousands of theorems. He studied the contents of the book in detail and went beyond and developed his own theorems and ideas. This book acts as a key element in awakening his genius. It is said that he independently developed and investigated the Bernoulli numbers and calculated the Euler-Mascheroni constant up to 15 decimal places.

He secured a scholarship in 1903 to the University of Madras but lost it in the following years due to the negligence of all other studies in pursuit of mathematics. He met with the founder of the Indian Mathematical Society, V Ramaswamy Aiyer in 1910 and began to gain recognition in Madras mathematical circles and leading to his inclusion as a researcher at the University of Madras.

Srinivasa Ramanujan: Marriage and Career in Mathematics

In July 1909, he married Janakiammal. He became ill and went to surgery around 1910. After his successful surgery, he searched for a job. He also tutored students at Presidency College in Madras who were preparing for their Fellow of Arts exam. In 1910, he met V. Ramaswamy Aiyer, who founded the Indian Mathematical Society. He convinced him and luck favours. And as a result, with the help of Aiyer, his work had been published in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society.

He got the job in 1912 as an accounting clerk with the Madras Port Trust and his financial condition improved.

His intelligence and genius slowly gained recognition and he began a correspondence in 1913 with the British mathematician Godfrey H. Hardy that led to a special scholarship from the University of Madras and a grant from Trinity College, Cambridge.

Srinivasa Ramanujan: Life in England

He travelled to England in 1914, where Hardy tutored him. He collaborated with him on some research work. He brought his notebooks from India which were filled with thousands of identities, equations, and theorems that he discovered for himself in the years 1903 to 1914. Some were discovered by earlier mathematicians; some through inexperience, were mistaken, and many were entirely new.

He had very little formal training in mathematics. He spent around 5 years in Cambridge collaborating with Hardy and Littlewood and published part of his findings there.

Srinivasa Ramanujan: Major Works

He worked in several areas including the Riemann series, the elliptic integrals, hypergeometric series, the functional equations of the zeta function, and his own theory of divergent series, in which he discovered a value for the sum of such series using a technique he invented and came to be known as Ramanujan summation.

He also made several advances in England, mainly in the partition of numbers (the various ways that a positive integer can be expressed as the sum of positive integers; e.g. 4 can be expressed as 4, 3 + 1, 2 + 2, 2 + 1 + 1, and 1 + 1 + 1 + 1).

His papers were published in English and European Journals. He was elected to the Royal Society of London in 1918 and became the second Indian. He was also elected "for his investigation in elliptic functions and the Theory of Numbers."

In October 1918, he was the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

He is also known for Landau–Ramanujan constant, Mock theta functions, Ramanujan conjecture, Ramanujan prime, Ramanujan–Soldner constant, Ramanujan theta function, Ramanujan's sum, Rogers–Ramanujan identities, Ramanujan's master theorem, and Ramanujan–Sato series.

1729 is famous as Hardy-Ramanujan number and generalisation of this idea have generated the notion of "Taxicab numbers".

Srinivasa Ramanujan: Illness and Death

He contracted tuberculosis in 1917. His condition improved so that he could return to India in 1919. He died the following year. He left behind three notebooks and some pages, also known as the "lost notebook" that contained various unpublished results. Mathematicians continued to verify these results after his death.

[MysteRy]

1. Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on 22 December 1997, in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India, into a Brahmin family.  His father was Srinivasa Iyengar, an accounting clerk for a clothing merchant, and his mother was Komalatammal.

2. He had not done any formal training in pure mathematics then also made several contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, continued fractions, etc.

3. When Ramanujan was 15 years old, he obtained a copy of George Shoobridge Carr’s Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics. This book was his main source of inspiration and expertise.

It consists of a large number of mathematical theorems, many presented without proofs, and those with proofs only have the briefest. Ramanujan verified the results in Carr's book and went beyond it. He developed his own theorems and ideas. He also secured a scholarship to the University of Madras in 1903 but lost it in the following year, as he neglected all other studies due to mathematics.

4. He published the first of his papers in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society in 1911. His understanding of mathematics and his genius slowly gained recognition. He was appointed to the position of clerk in the Madras Post Trust Office in 1912 where his colleague encouraged him to reach out to G.H. Hardy, who was a famous mathematician at Cambridge University. He led to a special scholarship from the University of Madras and a grant from Trinity College, Cambridge.

5. In 1914, he traveled to England despite religious objections. Here, Hardy taught him and collaborated with him on some research. Ramanujan, in England also made advances mainly in the partition of numbers.

6. His contributions to Mathematics

He compiled around 3900 results that consist of equations and identities. One of his most famous findings was his infinite series for pi. This is the basis of the various algorithms that we use today.

He also discovered various new ideas for solving several challenging mathematical problems, which further gave a significant impetus to game theory development.

He also described the mock theta function. 

His several other works include the Riemann series, the elliptic integrals, the hypergeometric series, the functional equations of the zeta function, and his own theory of divergent series.

7. Ramanujan in England had made advances mainly in the partition of numbers. His papers were published in English and European journals.

8. He was elected to the Royal Society of England in 1918 and became the second Indian.

'1729' is said to be a magic number. According to Ramanujan's biography 'The Man Who Knew Infinity' by Robert Knaigel, GH Hardy once went to meet Ramanujan at a hospital. He told him that the taxi number was '1729' from which he came but it seemed to be an ordinary number. Ramanujan said that it was not an ordinary number. The genius mathematician said that it is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two different cubes in 2 different ways. Later, the number was termed as the 'Hardy-Ramanujan Number'.

9. Ramanujan at the age of 32 died after contracting tuberculosis. He left behind three notebooks and some pages known as 'lost notebooks' containing various unpublished results that were continued to verify by mathematicians after his death.

The genius Indian mathematician had few opportunities during his lifetime to showcase his talents. But his passion for giving his best to mathematics did not hold him back from leaving back his legacy for the world to marvel at.

[MysteRy]

Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician whose contributions to the fields of number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions are remembered to date. Despite facing numerous challenges, including poverty and lack of formal education, he went on to make groundbreaking discoveries in mathematics and gained recognition as one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his time.

At the age of 13, Ramanujan developed a keen interest in Mathematics and started learning advanced topics. His dedication to the subject help him discover such theories that are still studied and admired by mathematicians around the world. The below quiz will help you get some insights into his early life and career. So, without further ado, let's get started;
 

1. When was Srinivasa Ramanujan born?

A. 22 December 1879
B.  7 April 1889
C. 30 June 1887
D. 3 March 1885

Ans: A. 22 December 1879

Explanation:  Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on 22nd December 1879.

2. In which town in South India was Ramanujan born?

A. Madurai
B. Chennai
C. Bangalore
D. Hyderabad

Ans: D. Madurai

Explanation: Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in Madurai.

3. At what age did Ramanujan start studying mathematics?

A.  7 years old
B. 10 years old
C. 13 years old
D. 16 years old

Ans: C. 13 years old

Explanation: Ramanujan started learning about mathematics at the early age of 13.

4. Which film is based on Ramanujan’s life?

A. The Man who knew infinity
B. A Beautiful Mind
C. Gifted
D. X+Y

Ans: A. The Man who knew infinity

Explanation: The film, 'The Man who knew infinity' was entirely based on the life of Ramanujan. It starred Dev Patel in the lead role and was directed by Matthew Brown.

5. Who invited Ramanujan to England?

A. John Littlewood
B. G.H. Hardy
C. Isaac Newton
D. David Hilbert

Ans: B.  G.H. Hardy

Explanation: Inspired by  Ramanujan's achievements, English mathematician G.H. Hardy invited him to England.

6. Which year was celebrated as National Mathematics Year by the Government of India?

A.  2010
B. 2013
C. 2011
D. 2012

Ans: D. 2012

Explanation: 2012 was celebrated as National Mathematics Year by the Government of India.

7. At what age did Ramanujan pass away?

A. 26
B. 31
C. 33
D. Ans: C. 33

Explanation: Ramanujan passed away at the age of 33 due to Tuberculosis.39

8. What disease did Ramanujan suffer from, which caused his health to decline rapidly?

A. Diabetes
B. Tuberculosis
C. Cancer
D. Malaria

Ans: B. Tuberculosis

Explanation: Ramanujan suffered from Tuberculosis which resulted in a rapid decline in his health.

9. Which mathematical concept did Ramanujan develop independently of contemporary mathematicians?

A. The Riemann hypothesis
B. The theory of elliptic curves
C. Modular forms
D. The partition function

Ans: D. The partition function

Explanation: Ramanujan developed a mathematical concept called the partition function.

10. How many years did Ramanujan spend in England before returning to India?

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

Ans: B. 2

Explanation:  Ramanujan spent 2 years in England before returning to India.

[MysteRy]

In the early 1900s, in the scorching heat of Madras, India, lived a frail boy named Srinivasa Ramanujan. He had no shoes. No formal training. And barely enough to eat.

But what he did have was a notebook. In it, he scribbled numbers, theorems, and dreams.

By the age of 12, Ramanujan had mastered trigonometry and was inventing his own formulas—some of which hadn’t been discovered anywhere else in the world.

His obsession with mathematics grew—but it came at a cost. He failed other subjects in school and dropped out of college. People called him a failure. Even his family began to lose hope. He worked as a humble clerk, earning just enough to survive.

But every spare moment? He filled notebooks with mathematical magic—pages so dense with ideas, they seemed from another universe.

One day, desperate to be heard, he sent a letter to G.H. Hardy, a brilliant mathematician at Cambridge University. The letter was filled with hundreds of formulas—no proofs, just raw, powerful intuition.

At first, Hardy thought it was a prank.

But after reading deeper, he said:

“They must be true, because no one would have the imagination to invent them.”

Hardy invited Ramanujan to England.

What followed was both beautiful and tragic.

Ramanujan, a devout vegetarian unused to cold weather, fell seriously ill. The racism, the loneliness, the culture shock—it all wore him down. But even while sick in bed, he continued to produce work that would reshape number theory, infinite series, and mathematical analysis forever.

In just five short years, he wrote enough to fill volumes.

He died at only 32. But in that short time, he left behind nearly 4,000 formulas, many of which are still being studied today.

📘 One of his final letters said:

“An equation means nothing to me unless it expresses a thought of God.”

💬 Ramanujan didn’t just write math.
He felt it. He lived it. He breathed it.
And though the world saw him as a poor, uneducated man… he became a legend.

Let his story remind us:

Your background does not define your brilliance.
When the world says "you can’t," let your work say “watch me

[MysteRy]

From Chalk on a Slate to Cambridge University
Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in 1887 in a small village called Erode in southern India. His family was poor, and as a child, he had very little access to proper books or formal education in advanced mathematics. But from a young age, he showed an extraordinary curiosity about numbers.

At age 15, he stumbled upon a copy of an old mathematics book — “A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics” by G.S. Carr. The book was simply a list of thousands of theorems and formulas, with little to no explanation. But for Ramanujan, it was a gold mine. He began teaching himself advanced math by working through these formulas on his own — often using chalk and a small slate, since paper was too expensive.

Despite having no formal training, he developed many original theorems, often reinventing discoveries made by the world’s top mathematicians — and even going far beyond them.

But he faced many challenges. His obsession with math led him to fail in other subjects, and he had to drop out of college. He was jobless and struggling, but he continued working on math relentlessly.

The Breakthrough
In 1913, Ramanujan took a leap of faith. He sent a letter full of his mathematical findings to G.H. Hardy, a leading mathematician at Cambridge University in England. Hardy at first thought the letter might be a prank — the formulas were strange, original, and sometimes incorrect in wording — but many were astonishingly accurate and deeply insightful.

Hardy was so impressed that he invited Ramanujan to Cambridge. After much persuasion (and overcoming religious and cultural challenges), Ramanujan traveled to England in 1914.

A New World
At Cambridge, Ramanujan finally had access to a world-class mathematical environment. He and Hardy collaborated on groundbreaking work in number theory, infinite series, and partitions — fields that are still deeply influenced by Ramanujan’s contributions.

But the cold English climate, wartime food shortages, and his vegetarian diet weakened his health. Ramanujan developed tuberculosis and eventually returned to India, where he died in 1920 at the young age of 32.

Legacy
Despite his short life, Ramanujan left behind nearly 4,000 original theorems, many of which were ahead of his time. His work still influences modern mathematics, including areas like string theory and black hole physics.

His life story is a powerful reminder that raw talent, passion, and perseverance can shine through any hardship. Even without resources, mentorship, or formal education, Ramanujan became one of the greatest mathematicians the world has ever known.

[MysteRy]

Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in 1887 in colonial India, in the small town of Erode.
He was poor.
No university degree.
No formal training.
Just a battered notebook… and a mind that defied the limits of human imagination.

From a young age, he scribbled down equations and theorems that broke every conventional rule.
Nobody had taught him. The ideas came to him — often in vivid dreams.
Some formulas were so advanced that even today, mathematicians are still proving them.

But he kept them hidden.
He feared ridicule.
Who would believe a “nobody” from a poor neighborhood in Madras?
Genius born in humble places often gets buried under the weight of circumstance.

His brilliance burned like fire, yet he was trapped by an invisible enemy: self-doubt.

Until one day, driven by a mix of faith and desperation, he wrote a letter.
Just one.
He sent it to the world-renowned mathematician G.H. Hardy at the University of Cambridge.

When Hardy read it, he was stunned:
"It was like discovering Mozart symphonies… composed by someone who had never seen a piano."

That letter changed everything.
It took Ramanujan to England, where he made groundbreaking contributions to number theory, infinite series, and mathematical analysis — many of which continue to inspire research over a century later.
In just five years, before his untimely death at 32, he produced nearly 3,900 results — many of them so ahead of their time that scientists are still uncovering their applications in physics, computer science, and cryptography today.

But… what if he had never sent that letter?

📌 Remember:
Talent means nothing if it stays hidden.
Fear can bury brilliance.
Sometimes a single act — a letter, a call, a bold attempt —
is all that separates the forgotten from the immortal.

What part of you are you hiding because you’re afraid?
Maybe your future, too, depends on one courageous decision.