Srinivasa Ramanujan's Milestones
Birth
Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in Erode, India, to K. Srinivasa Iyengar and Komalatammal.
Family moved to Kumbakonam
Moved with his mother to Kanchipuram and then back to Kumbakonam after surviving smallpox.
Lost siblings in infancy
Three younger siblings died in infancy, leaving Ramanujan as the only surviving child.
Enrolled at Kangayan Primary School
Enrolled at Kangayan Primary School in Kumbakonam.
Passed primary exams with top scores
Passed primary exams with best scores in district; entered Town High School.
Attended Town High School
Attended Town High School in Kumbakonam, excelling in mathematics and winning awards.
Discovered advanced mathematics
Began studying advanced trigonometry and discovered sophisticated theorems on his own by age 13.
Studied Loney's Trigonometry
Mastered S.L. Loney's Trigonometry and developed own solutions for cubic and quartic equations.
Discovered Carr's Synopsis
Studied G.S. Carr's 'A Synopsis of Elementary Results', inspiring his mathematical creativity.
Explored Bernoulli numbers
Independently developed Bernoulli numbers and calculated Euler–Mascheroni constant to 15 decimals.
Scholarship to Government College
Received a scholarship to Government College, Kumbakonam, but lost it due to focusing solely on mathematics.
Attended Pachaiyappa's College
Attended Pachaiyappa's College, Madras; excelled in mathematics but failed other subjects and left without a degree.
Lived in poverty
Lived in poverty and continued independent mathematical research.
Married Janaki
Married Janakiammal, arranged by his mother.
Met V. Ramaswamy Aiyer
Met V. Ramaswamy Aiyer, founder of Indian Mathematical Society, who helped Ramanujan gain recognition.
Supported by R. Ramachandra Rao
Received financial support from R. Ramachandra Rao to pursue mathematical research.
First published paper
Published first paper on Bernoulli numbers in Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society.
Temporary job at Madras Port Trust
Worked as clerk at Madras Port Trust while continuing research.
Corresponded with G.H. Hardy
Began correspondence with British mathematician G.H. Hardy, who recognized his genius and invited him to Cambridge.
Awarded research scholarship
Received research scholarship from University of Madras.
Traveled to England
Traveled to England to collaborate with Hardy and Littlewood at Cambridge University.
Awarded BA by Research
Awarded Bachelor of Arts by Research from Cambridge for work on highly composite numbers.
Elected to London Mathematical Society
Elected to the London Mathematical Society.
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society for work on elliptic functions and number theory.
Elected Fellow of Trinity College
Elected Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Final mathematical work
Continued mathematical research and produced final results despite illness.
Returned to India due to illness
Returned to India due to deteriorating health.
Death
Died at age 32 in Kumbakonam, India, leaving a legacy of profound mathematical discoveries.