Srinivasa Ramanujan FRS (1887 - 1920) - Our Mentor
Srinivasa Ramanujan FRS (Fellowship of the Royal Society), (Born on 22 December 1887 at Erode, Tamil Nadu and died on 26 April 1920 at Kumbakonam) was an Indian mathematician who lived during the British Rule in India. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems considered unsolvable then. Ramanujan initially developed his mathematical research in isolation. According to Hans Eysenck: "He tried to interest the leading professional mathematicians in his work, but failed for the most part. Because what he had to show them was too novel, too unfamiliar, and additionally presented in unusual ways; they could not be bothered". Seeking mathematicians who could better understand his work, in 1913 he began a postal correspondence with the English mathematician G. H. Hardy at the University of Cambridge, England. Recognising Ramanujan's work as extraordinary, Hardy arranged a journey to Cambridge for him. In his notes, Hardy commented that Ramanujan had produced groundbreaking new theorems, including some that "defeated me completely; I had never seen anything in the least like them before", and some recently proven but highly advanced results.
