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National Mathematics Day: 22nd December 2022

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National Mathematics Day: 22nd December 2022

On National Mathematics Day, we celebrate the birth anniversary of the mathematics genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan and his immense contributions to mathematics. Read the article to know about the history and significance of this day.

The 22nd of December is observed every year as National Mathematics Day in honour of renowned Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The Mathematics Day celebration honours him as a legend in the field of mathematics and commemorates his works. The auspicious day celebrates the importance of mathematics in our daily lives and inspires people to learn more and think rationally.

Every year since 2012, schools and universities throughout the country celebrate the Indian National Mathematics Day on December 22. It was first declared by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at Madras University in 2012. On the 125th anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan’s birth, he announced this at the university.

Who was Srinivasa Ramanujan?

Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu, to a Tamil Brahmin family. In spite of not having a formal education in mathematics, his contributions provided innovative solutions for complex mathematical problems. Known as ‘the man, who knew infinity,’ Ramanujan was a pioneer in the field of mathematics.

He joined Trinity College and was elected as one of the members of the London Mathematical Society. Moreover, Ramanujan was nominated as the first Indian member of Trinity College Cambridge.

The lack of interest he had in other subjects besides mathematics led to his failure in college exams in 1903. While Ramanujan was working as a clerk at Madras Port Tryst in 1912, one of his colleagues, also a mathematician, discovered him. He introduced Ramanujan to Professor G.H. Hardy of Trinity College, Cambridge University.

In 1916, he earned a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree and joined the London Mathematical Society the following year. He was also elected as a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society in recognition of his research into Elliptic functions and his theory of numbers.

When he returned to his country in 1919, he was 32 years old, but unfortunately he passed away a year later.

Significance of National Mathematics Day 2022

In honour of Srinivasa Ramanujan’s birth anniversary, National Mathematics Day celebrates his enduring achievements. It is widely considered that he is one of the best mathematicians in the world, both nationally and globally. He was considered a gifted mathematician for solving supposedly unsolvable equations and for presenting significant mathematical analyses.

The purpose of Mathematics Day is to raise awareness about the importance of mathematics. Mathematics plays an important role in daily life, so this day is celebrated to recognize its importance. Several steps have been taken by the government to motivate and educate the public and youth about mathematics. Numerous camps are organized by different authorities to provide free training to students and mathematics teachers.

Srinivasa Ramanujan’s Contributions to Mathematics:

Through his enormous contributions to various Mathematical domains, Srinivasa Ramanujan reshaped Mathematics in the twentieth century. Several areas of mathematics have been greatly impacted by his discoveries, including infinite series, mathematical analysis, number theory, continued fractions, and even game theory.

  • The majority of his discoveries were established based on instinct, which proved to be correct in the end.
  • In 1911, his papers were published in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society.
  • He assembled almost 3900 results, mainly equations and identities, without anyone else’s assistance.
  • Some of his results are even indigenous and novel, like the Ramanujan theta function, partition formulae, mock theta functions, and the Ramanujan prime. The results of all these studies led to various other research projects and opened up new areas of investigation.
  • He conceived of divergent series, the Riemann series, the hypergeometric series, the elliptic integrals, and the functional equations of the zeta function.
  • The most fascinating among Ramanujan’s discoveries is the number 1729, popularly known as the Ramanujan-Hardy Number.
  • Based on Ramanujan’s biography, ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity,’ written by Robert Knaigel, once G.H. Hardy visited Ramanujan at a hospital and told him that the taxi number in which he came in was 1729, which seemed to be an ordinary number. Ramanujan disagreed with the fact, and later 1729 was termed the Ramanujan-Hardy number.

How is the National Mathematics Day Celebrated in India?

The National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), India’s oldest scientific academy, organises a workshop every year to commemorate Ramanujan National Mathematics Day. This workshop is attended by well-known lecturers and math specialists from across the country.

Various speakers from across the country and even at the international level speak about Ramanujan’s contribution to mathematics. On December 30th and 31st, 2019, the NASI headquarters at Prayagraj held a two-day workshop on ‘History of Indian Maths before 16th Century’.

Discussions were held on the following topics during the workshop:

  • India’s contribution during the Vedic period
  • India’s assistance during the Classical period
  • India’s offerings during the Medieval period

Schools and universities throughout the country celebrate this day with numerous educational events, including mathematical quizzes and competitions, every year on 22 December to honour the legendary mathematician. This day was marked by the inauguration of the Ramanujan Math Park in Kuppam, in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.

The only thing that comes to mind when we talk about Mathematics Day is how genius Ramanujan impacted the world with his ground-breaking discoveries and theories. This day has been declared National Mathematics Day as a tribute to him and is celebrated throughout the country to emphasise the importance of mathematics.


Also published on Medium.

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