If you’re studying mathematics, you might be pleased to know that a vast proportion of history’s most notable mathematicians have in fact skipped higher education, with much of their accomplishments and great discoveries owing all credit to dedicated self-instruction and an innate passion for mathematics. Read on to learn more about their backgrounds and accomplishments.
Born in British India (present-day Tamil Nadu, India) on December 22, 1887, Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of the world’s most renowned mathematicians of his time, having made notable contributions to various areas in mathematics, such as the elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite series, and left a particularly significant mark in the area of analytical theory of numbers.
From a young age, Ramanujan was evidently demonstrating an instinctive flare for numbers and mathematics, his first major inspirational flame ignited by a mathematical book he obtained at 15 years old. The teenager felt enthused to add more to the book’s collection of theorems, developing his own mathematical notions and formulas, and beginning a journey of discoveries that would eventually lead him onto a well-recognized stage of mathematical elites.
Despite his genius, Ramanujan was unemployed and suffered immense financial struggles throughout his short life. His innate mathematical abilities, however, were undoubtedly impressive, and following a correspondence with the British mathematician Godfrey H. Hardy, he was granted a scholarship from Trinity of College, Cambridge in the UK – though surprisingly, he didn’t major in mathematics, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree by research (now referred to as a PhD).#
