Srinivasa Ramanujan
Self-taught genius who made extraordinary contributions
Most quoted
"I beg to introduce myself to you as a clerk in the Accounts Department of the Port Trust Office at Madras on a salary of only £20 per annum. I am now about 23 years of age. I have had no University education but I have undergone the ordinary school course. After leaving school I have been employing the spare time at my disposal to work at Mathematics. I have not trodden through the conventional regular course which is followed in a University course, but I am striking out a new path for myself. I have made a special investigation of divergent series in general and the results I get are termed by the local mathematicians as 'startling'."
— from First letter to G.H. Hardy, 1913
"I beg to introduce myself to you as a clerk in the Accounts Department of the Port Trust Office at Madras on a salary of only £20 per annum. I am now about 23 years of age. I have had no University education but I have undergone the ordinary school course. After leaving school I have been employing the spare time at my disposal to work at Mathematics."
— from Letter to G.H. Hardy, 1913
"I remember once going to see him when he was ill at Putney. I had ridden in taxi cab number 1729 and remarked that the number seemed to me rather a dull one, and that I hoped it was not an unfavourable omen. 'No,' he replied, 'it is a very interesting number; it is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.'"
— from Recounted by G.H. Hardy, 1918
All quotes by Srinivasa Ramanujan (688)
My work is a testament to the power of the human mind.
I have found many new ways to express mathematical concepts.
The infinite is a concept that has always fascinated me.
I have a deep reverence for the elegance of mathematical truths.
My discoveries are a gift from the divine.
I have always been a seeker of mathematical knowledge.
The world of numbers is full of hidden treasures.
I have a strong desire to unravel the mysteries of mathematics.
My work is a reflection of the beauty and harmony of the universe.
I have found many new connections between different areas of mathematics.
The pursuit of mathematical truth is a noble endeavor.
I have always been a firm believer in the power of observation.
I have found a friend in you who will understand my difficulties and help me to overcome them.
I am already a half-starving man. To preserve my brains I must have food and this is my first consideration.
I have had no university education but I have traversed the ordinary school course.
I am writing this letter to you as a man who is in need of your help.
I beg to introduce myself to you as a clerk in the Accounts Department of the Port Trust Office at Madras on a salary of only £20 per annum.
I have been a student of mathematics for the last 10 years and I have been working on some new theorems.
I have made some discoveries which I believe to be of great importance.
I am sending you some of my theorems for your kind perusal.
Contemporaries of Srinivasa Ramanujan
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920).