National Mathematics Day 2022: On December 22, the country as a whole observes National Mathematics Day. Srinivasa Ramanujan’s contributions are recognised and honoured on National Mathematics Day. Srinivasa Ramanujan, the Indian mathematical genius, was born on this day in 1887. The nation commemorates Ramanujan’s 135th birthday this year. The main objective behind the celebration of National Mathematics Day is to make people aware of the development of mathematics and its importance in the growth of humanity.
December 2022 Current Affairs Quiz
National Mathematics Day: History
The day was declared on February 26, 2012, the 125th anniversary of the birth of Srinivasa Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician, by the country’s then-prime minister (22 Dec 1887- 26 Apr 1920). 2012 was also observed as National Mathematics Year. Ramanujan had a wealth of ideas that have transformed and reshaped 20th-century mathematics. These ideas continue to shape the mathematics of the 21st century.
Important points on life and work of the Srinivasa Ramanujan:
- Srinivasa Ramanujan was born to a Brahmin Iyengar family on December 22, 1887, in Erode, Tamil Nadu. He had developed a liking for mathematics at a very young age, mastering trigonometry at 12 and was eligible for a scholarship at the Government Arts College in Kumbakonam.
- In 1903, he attended the Government College in Kumbakonam. Due to his dislike for non-mathematical subjects, he failed exams there. He had enrolled in Madras’ Pachaiyappa College at the age of 14.
- In 1912, Ramanujan started working as a clerk in the Madras Port Trust. There, his mathematical genius was recognised by some of his colleagues and one of them referred him to Professor GH Hardy of Trinity College, Cambridge University. He met Hardy in 1913, after which he went to Trinity College.
- In 1916, Ramanujan received his Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. He went on to publish several papers on his subject with Hardy’s help. The two even collaborated on several joint projects.
- In 1917, Ramanujan was chosen to join the London Mathematical Society. Next year, he was elected to the prestigious Royal Society for his research on Elliptic Functions and theory of numbers. He was also the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of the Trinity College.
- Despite not receiving any formal training in pure maths, Ramanujan made impactful contribution to the discipline in his short life. His areas of work include infinite series, continued fractions, number theory and mathematical analysis.
- He also made notable contributions like the hypergeometric series, the Riemann series, the elliptic integrals, the theory of divergent series, and the functional equations of the zeta function. He is said to have discovered his own theorems and independently compiled 3,900 results.
- Ramanujan went back to India in 1919. He passed away on April 26 of the following year as a result of his failing health. Just 32 years old, he was. His biography ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ by Robert Kanigel depicts his life and journey to fame.
- A film of the same name was released in 2015 in which British-Indian actor Dev Patel played Ramanujan. The 2015 movie ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity” was released based on Srinivasa Ramanujan’s biography. The film shed light on Ramanujan’s childhood in India, his time in Britain, and his journey to becoming the great mathematician.
