SRINIVASA RAMANUJAN
The famous mathematical prodigy Ramanujan was broan and raised in southern India near the city of Madras (now call Chennai).His father was clerk in a cloth shop.His mother contributed to the family income by singing at a local temple. Ramanujan studied at the local English language school,displaying his talent and interest for mathematics.At the age of 13 he mastered a textbook used by college students.When he was 15, a university student lent him a copy of Synopsis of pure mathematics.Ramanujan decided to work out the over 6000 results in this book, stated without proof or explanation, writing on sheets later collected tofrom notebooks.Enrolling in a fine arts curriculum,he neglected subjects other than mathematics and lost his scholarship.He failed to pass examinations at the university four times from 1904 to 1907 , doing well only in mathematics.During this time he filled his notebooks with original writings,sometimes rediscovering already published work and at other times makin...