Srinivasa Ramanujan
Self-taught mathematician whose results still shape number theory
- Lived
- 32 yrs
- 1887 – 1920
- Works listed
- 0
- Career highlights
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 1918
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Srinivasa Ramanujan was a largely self-taught mathematician who, despite almost no formal training, produced thousands of results in number theory, infinite series and continued fractions. His collaboration with G. H. Hardy at Cambridge made him a Fellow of the Royal Society at 30. He died at 32.
Biography
Early life
Ramanujan grew up in Kumbakonam and taught himself advanced mathematics from a borrowed textbook. He failed to complete college because he neglected subjects other than mathematics, and worked as a clerk at the Madras Port Trust while filling notebooks with original results.
Cambridge
In 1913 he wrote to the Cambridge mathematician G. H. Hardy, enclosing pages of theorems. Hardy recognised his genius and brought him to Trinity College in 1914. Together they produced landmark work, including an asymptotic formula for the partition function. In 1918 Ramanujan became one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society and the first Indian Fellow of Trinity College.
Way of working
Ramanujan worked largely by intuition, writing results without the formal proofs Western mathematicians expected; he attributed his insights to the family goddess Namagiri of Namakkal. Hardy, who compared his talent to that of Euler and Jacobi, spent years teaching him rigorous methods while trying not to dampen his originality.
Results that endure
His discoveries include the Hardy–Ramanujan asymptotic formula for the partition function, Ramanujan’s congruences, the Ramanujan tau function, highly composite numbers, mock theta functions and remarkably fast-converging series for π that are used in computer algorithms today. His work has found applications in fields from string theory to crystallography.
Legacy
Weakened by illness, he returned to India in 1919 and died in Kumbakonam on 26 April 1920. His notebooks, and a “lost notebook” rediscovered in 1976, contained around 3,900 results that mathematicians are still proving. India celebrates National Mathematics Day on his birthday, 22 December. His life was the subject of the film The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015).
Timeline
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1887
Born in Erode, Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu)
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1904
Wins a scholarship to college in Kumbakonam
Loses it by neglecting other subjects.
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1912
Clerk at the Madras Port Trust
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1913
Writes to G. H. Hardy
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1914
Arrives at Trinity College, Cambridge
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1916
BA by research from Cambridge
For his work on highly composite numbers.
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1918
Fellow of the Royal Society and of Trinity College
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1920
Dies in Kumbakonam
Aged 32.
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1976
His “lost notebook” is rediscovered
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2012
India marks National Mathematics Day on his birthday
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1920
Died, aged 32
Awards and honours
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Fellow of the Royal Society
1918
Did you know?
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1
1729 is known as the Hardy–Ramanujan number: the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.
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2
G. H. Hardy rated Ramanujan’s natural genius above his own and that of his peers.
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3
His formulas for π are used in computer algorithms.
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4
He credited his insights to the goddess Namagiri.
Frequently asked
Who is Srinivasa Ramanujan?
Srinivasa Ramanujan was a largely self-taught mathematician who, despite almost no formal training, produced thousands of results in number theory, infinite series and continued fractions. His collaboration with G. H. Hardy at Cambridge made him a Fellow of the Royal Society at 30. He died at 32.
When did Srinivasa Ramanujan die?
Srinivasa Ramanujan died on 26 April 1920 at the age of 32.
Where is Srinivasa Ramanujan from?
Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in Erode, Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu).
What is Srinivasa Ramanujan known for?
Srinivasa Ramanujan is best known for Partition function, mock theta functions, infinite series for π; the number 1729.
What awards has Srinivasa Ramanujan received?
Notable honours include Fellow of the Royal Society (1918).
Who is Srinivasa Ramanujan married to?
Spouse: Janaki Ammal.
References
- Srinivasa Ramanujan — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Srinivasa Ramanujan — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Srinivasa Ramanujan — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Srinivasa Ramanujan — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Srinivasa Ramanujan (Q83163) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editors; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal
- First published 26 October 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Srinivasa Ramanujan.” TrackFame, last updated 26 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/srinivasa-ramanujan
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