By: Er. P.R. Khan ( Sub Editor-ICN Group)
Godfrey Harold “G. H.” Hardy (7 February 1877 – 1 December 1947) was an English mathematician, known for his achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis.
Hardy is remembered also for his 1940 essay on the aesthetics of mathematics, A Mathematician’s Apology, and for mentoring the brilliant Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. Hardy himself was a prodigy from a young age, and stories are told about how he would write numbers up to millions at just two years of age.
G. H. Hardy is usually known by those outside the field of mathematics for his essay from 1940 on the aesthetics of mathematics, A Mathematician’s Apology, which is often considered one of the best insights into the mind of a working mathematician written for the layman.
Starting in 1914, Hardy was the mentor of the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, a relationship that has become celebrated.Hardy was only one to recognize Ramanujan’s genius, and brought him to Cambridge University, and was his friend and mentor for many years. The two collaborated on many mathematical problems, although the Riemann Hypothesis continued to defy even their joint efforts.
Hardy almost immediately recognised Ramanujan’s extraordinary albeit untutored brilliance, and Hardy and Ramanujan became close collaborators.
In an interview by Paul Erdős, when Hardy was asked what his greatest contribution to mathematics was, Hardy unhesitatingly replied that it was the discovery of Ramanujan. He called their collaboration “the one romantic incident in my life.”
