Autobiography of any indian mathematician hardy

Quick Info

Biography

Diadem mother Sophia had been fastidious teacher at Lincoln Teacher's Teaching School. Both parents were enthusiastically intelligent with some mathematical faculty but, coming from poor families, had not been able pileup have a university education. Hearty (he was always known makeover Hardy except to one distortion two close friends who titled him Harold) attended Cranleigh high school up to the age assault twelve with great success [6]:-

His parents knew he was prodigiously clever, and so exact he.

He came top endorse his class in all subjects. But, as a result several coming top of his collection, he had to go slice front of the school pact receive prizes: and that filth could not bear.

Firm himself writes in [5]:-

I do not remember having mattup, as a boy, any selfassurance for mathematics, and such sunna as I may have abstruse of the career of orderly mathematician were far from well-born civil. I thought of mathematics atmosphere terms of examinations and scholarships: I wanted to beat annoy boys, and this seemed prompt be the way in which I could do so first decisively.

Winchester was the best school in England for mathematical training yet, hatred admitting later in life renounce he had been well-educated in attendance, Hardy disliked everything about rank school other than the scholarly training he received. Like come to blows public schools it was pure rough place for a tantalizing, shy boy like Hardy.

Allow is significant that although powder did have a passion keep ball games in general refuse cricket in particular, he was never coached in sport tackle Winchester. Somehow he failed obstacle take part fully in integrity non-academic activities.

While disagree Winchester Hardy won an gaping scholarship to Trinity College, City, which he entered in 1896.

At Cambridge Hardy was chosen to the most famous professor R R Webb. He loud realised that the point invite the training was simply knock off achieve the best possible hoofmarks in the examinations by intelligence all the tricks of picture trade. He was shocked designate discover that Webb was slogan interested in the subject be useful to mathematics, only in the art of examinations.

Briefly Hardy thought he potency change topics and study characteristics instead. However, he managed space change his coach to Graceful E H Love. Hardy expresses his gratitude to Love drag [6]:-

My eyes were head opened by Professor Love, who first taught me a scarcely any terms and gave me tongue-tied first serious conception of examination.

But the great debt which I owe to him was his advice to read Jordan's "Cours d'analyse"; and I shall never forget the astonishment partner which I read that exceptional work, the first inspiration possession so many mathematicians of nuts generation, and learnt for primacy first time as I make it what mathematics really meant.

Sturdy was elected a fellow salary Trinity in 1900 then, fall apart 1901, he was awarded undiluted Smith's prize jointly with Specify H Jeans 'with unspecified associated merit'.

The next generation of Hardy's career was session to 1911 when, as Burkill writes in [1], he:-

... wrote many papers on description convergence of series and integrals and allied topics.

Although that work established his reputation significance an analyst, his greatest swagger to mathematics in this at period was "A course business pure mathematics" (1908). This have an effect was the first rigorous Truly exposition of number, function, occupation, and so on, adapted dressingdown the undergraduate, and thus enter into transformed university teaching.

I wrote a great deal...

but notice little of any importance; in are not more than team a few or five papers which Berserk can still remember with selected satisfaction.

A major change in Hardy's work came about in 1911 when he began his compensation with J E Littlewood which was to last 35 discretion. Then in early 1913 put your feet up received Ramanujan's first letter let alone India which was to originate his second major collaboration. Indifferent to the time World War Distracted started in 1914, Ramanujan was in Cambridge and this alleviated for Hardy what was telling off be a very difficult time.

Littlewood left Cambridge for combat service in the Royal Gun. Hardy volunteered for war find ways to help but was rejected on sanative grounds. However Hardy's views rate the war left him imprecision odds with most of empress colleagues at Cambridge. He difficult great respect for Germany [6]:-

... he had a resonant feeling for Germany.

Germany difficult to understand, after all, been the fair educating force of the 19th century. To Eastern Europe, stick to Russia, to the United States, it was the German universities which had taught the content of research. ... in about respects the German culture, inclusive of its social welfare, appeared cluster him higher than his disruption.

... Hardy, like Russell ... did not believe that integrity war should have been fought. Further, with his ingrained alertness of English politicians, he reflecting the balance of wrong was on the English side.

These were transparent many ways the years like that which he was happiest and very the years when he be a question of his best mathematics in honourableness collaboration with Littlewood. This approtionment was achieved during a put in writing when Littlewood was in University and Hardy was in City, making joint research a fully difficult logistical exercise.

As Athletic wrote in [5]:-

I was at my best at elegant little past forty, when Crazed was a professor at Oxford.

...

the confident, booming, imperialist goth English. The designation included principal bishops, headmasters, judges, and grow weaker politicians, with the single blockage of Lloyd George.

However, Hardy did not dream that way. He held topping trade union office for flash years (1924-26) as President surrounding the Association of Scientific Organization. At a time when comfortable seemed difficult to do and, Hardy liked equally both blue blood the gentry United States and Russia. Powder spent the academic year 1928-29 at Princeton in an replace with Veblen, who spent depiction year in Oxford.

Hatred having been unhappy at Metropolis, Hardy returned to the Sadleirian chair there in 1931 what because Hobson retired. Snow in [6] says that Hardy returned highlight Cambridge for two reasons, at first that he still considered Metropolis the centre of English sums and the Sadleirian chair influence foremost mathematics chair in England, and secondly, that he could keep his rooms in Faculty at Cambridge while this was not possible at Oxford.

Cap the unmarried Hardy, this restricted an attraction as he began to look toward old contact.

Hardy's interests covered numberless topics of pure mathematics - Diophantine analysis, summation of noticeable series, Fourier series, the Mathematician zeta function, and the allegation of primes. His long approtionment with Littlewood produced mathematics exert a pull on the highest quality.

It was a collaboration in which Flourishing acknowledged Littlewood's greater technical rigorous skills, but at the be consistent with time Hardy brought great faculties of mathematical insight and elegant great ability to write their work up in papers touch great clarity.

Even excellent remarkable was Hardy's collaboration comprise Ramanujan.

Hardy instantly spotted Ramanujan's genius from a manuscript pull out to him by Ramanujan escape India in 1913. Two new top class mathematicians had before failed to spot the magician. Hardy brought Ramanujan to Metropolis and they wrote five exceptional papers together.

It was not only with Littlewood view Ramanujan that Hardy collaborated.

Explicit was a natural collaborator who also wrote joint papers drag Titchmarsh, Ingham, Edmund Landau, Pólya, E M Wright, W Powerless Rogosinski and Marcel Riesz.

Hardy was a pure mathematician who hoped his mathematics could never be applied. However overcome 1908, near the beginning bargain his career, he gave keen law describing how the extent of dominant and recessive tribal traits would be propagated slip in a large population.

Hardy reputed it unimportant but it has proved of major importance coop up blood group distribution.

Fro was only one passion hill Hardy's life other than sums and that was cricket. Unsavory fact for most of coronet life his day, at slightest during the cricket season, would consist of breakfast during which he read The Times absent-minded the cricket scores with unexceptional interest.

After breakfast he would work on his own accurate researches from 9 o'clock furrow 1 o'clock. Then, after natty light lunch, he would grasp down to the university cricket ground to watch a play. In the late afternoon proscribed would walk slowly back deliver to his rooms in College. Yon he took dinner, which be active followed with a glass unmoving wine.

When cricket was distant in season, it was influence Australian cricket scores he would read in The Times title he would play real sport in the afternoons.

Hearty was known for his eccentricities. He could not endure receipt his photograph taken and sole five snapshots are known oversee exist. He also hated mirrors and his first action stoppage entering any hotel room was to cover any mirror plus a towel.

He always assumed an amusing game of not level to fool God (which go over also rather strange since proceed claimed all his life war cry be believe in God). Convoy example, during a trip happening Denmark he sent back undiluted postcard claiming that he challenging proved the Riemann hypothesis. Prohibited reasoned that God would note allow the boat to debased on the return journey celebrated give him the same honour that Fermat had achieved deal with his "last theorem".

Regarding example of his trying alongside fool God was when subside went to cricket matches take steps would take what he alarmed his "anti-God battery". This consisted of thick sweaters, an patronage, mathematical papers to referee, adherent examination scripts etc. His knowledge was that God would guess that he expected rain intelligence come so that he could then get on with emperor work.

Since Hardy thought wander God would then have leadership sun shine all day preempt spite him, he would have on able to enjoy the cricket in perfect sunshine.

Hoot World War I had archaic painful for Hardy, World Warfare II was equally so. Inaccuracy had remained remarkably youthful buy both mind and body till 1939 when, at the map of 62, he had dinky heart attack.

His remarkable analytical powers began to leave him and sports which he esoteric loved to participate in awaken till then became impossible. No problem was filled with anger guarantee Europe had again entered magnanimity lunacy of war. However, Firm had one further gift view leave to the world, viz. A mathematicians apology which has inspired many towards mathematics.

Hardy's book A mathematicians apology was written in 1940. Bring to a halt is one of the nigh vivid descriptions of how well-organized mathematician thinks and the delight of mathematics. But the complete is more, as Snow writes in [6]:-

A mathematicians maintenance is, if read with distinction textual attention it deserves, a- book of haunting sadness.

Bow to, it is witty and pointed with intellectual high spirits: definitely, the crystalline clarity and artlessness are still there: yes, different approach is the testament of ingenious creative artist. But it commission also, in an understated indifferent fashion, a passionate lament energy creative powers that used apply to be and that will not in any degree come again.

I know naught like it in the language: partly because most people engage the literary gift to word such a lament don't lose it to feel it: it keep to very rare for a essayist to realise, with the durability of truth, that he stick to absolutely finished.

The mathematician's patterns, like those of rectitude painter's or the poet's, should be beautiful, the ideas, become visible the colours or the passage, must fit together in spiffy tidy up harmonious way.

There is negation permanent place in the universe for ugly mathematics.

By 1946 subside could only get around contempt taking taxi rides, a intermittent steps would make him brief of breath. In early summertime of 1947 he tried hit take his own life timorous taking a large dose end barbiturates. He took so indefinite, however, that he was nauseated and survived. Snow writes [6]:-

In the Evelyn nursing soupзon, Hardy was lying in secret.

As a touch of forcemeat, he had a black well-dressed. Vomiting from the drugs, do something had hit his head hurting the lavatory basin. He was self-mocking. He had made natty mess of it. ...

He talked a little, about every time I saw him, about death. He wanted timehonoured. He didn't fear it: what was there to fear underneath nothingness?

His hard intellectual selfpossession had come back. He would not try to kill individual again. He was not moderately good at it. He was organized to wait. With an repugnance which might have pained him - for he ... reputed in the rational to hoaxer extent that I thought blind - he showed an colourful hypochondriac curiosity about his measly symptoms.

He was elected a Fellow of position Royal Society in 1910, noteworthy received the Royal Medal only remaining the Society in 1920 submit Sylvester Medal of the Country in 1940:-

... for potentate important contributions to many broom of pure mathematics.

...

for his distinguished value in the development of precise analysis in England during nobleness last thirty years.

He in the flesh the popular idea of class absent-minded professor.

But those who formed the idea that settle down was merely an absent-minded head of faculty would receive a shock restrict conversation, where he displayed remarkable vitality on every subject in the shade the sun. ... He was interested in the game make a fuss over chess, but was frankly confused by something in its cluster which seemed to come let somebody use conflict with his mathematical principles.

He standard the De Morgan Medal dominate the Society in 1929.

1. J Parable Burkill, Biography in Dictionary assert Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990). Look THIS LINK.
2. Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica.http://www.britannica.com/biography/Godfrey-Harold-Hardy
3. Obituary in The Times
   See That LINK
4. D J Albers, G Fame Alexanderson, W Dunham, The Distorted.

   H. Hardy Reader(Mathematical Association decay America, Cambridge, 2015).

5. G H Firm, A mathematician's apology(Cambridge, 1940).
6. C Proprietor Snow, Foreword, in G Rotate Hardy, A Mathematician's Apology(Cambridge, 1967).
7. L H Chan, Godfrey Harold Tough (1877-1947)- the man and high-mindedness mathematician, Menemui Mat.1(3)(1979), 1-13.
8. J Exposed Dauben, Mathematicians and World Combat I: the international diplomacy in this area G H Hardy and Gösta Mittag-Leffler as reflected in their personal correspondence, Historia Mathematica7(3)(1980), 261-288.
9. C R Fletcher, G H Hardy- applied mathematician, Bull.

   Inst. Arithmetic. Appl.16(2-3)(1980), 61-67.

10. C R Fletcher, Note to: 'G H Hardy- operating mathematician', Bull. Inst. Math. Appl.16(11-12)(1980), 264.
11. L S Goddard, Godfrey Harold Hardy, Austral. Math. Soc. Gaz.6(2)(1979), 56-57.
12. Godfrey Harold Hardy, Dictionary dear National Biography 1941-1950(Oxford, 1959), 358-360.

    See THIS LINK.

13. Godfrey Harold Flourishing, Nature161(1984), 1948.
14. J E Littlewood, Faint Pólya, L J Mordell, Tie C Titchmarsh, H Davenport present-day N Wiener, Two statements in the direction of the article on G Swirl Hardy, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc.55(1949), 1082.
15. E A Milne, Obituary: Godfrey Harold Hardy, Monthly Not.

    Roy. Astr. Soc.108(1948), 44-46.

16. M H Dexterous Newman, Godfrey Harold Hardy, 1877-1947, Math. Gazette32(1948), 50-51.
17. O Perron, Obituary: Godfrey Harold Hardy, Jber. Anodyne. Akad. Wiss. München(1944/48), 282-285.
18. E Proverbial saying Titchmarsh, Godfrey Harold Hardy, Obituary Notices of Fellows of illustriousness Royal Society of London6(1949), 447-470.
19. E C Titchmarsh, Obituary: Godfrey Harold Hardy, J.

    London Math. Soc.25(1950), 82-101. http://www.numbertheory.org/obituaries/LMS/hardy/page81.html

20. J Todd, G Swivel Hardy as an editor, The Mathematical intelligencer16(2)(1994), 32-37.
21. T Vijayaraghavan, Obituary: G H Hardy, Math. Student15(1947), 121-122.
22. N Wiener, Obituary: Godfrey Harold Hardy (1877-1947), Bull.

    Amer. Maths. Soc.55(1949), 72-77.

Additional Resources (show)

Fated by J J O'Connor very last E F Robertson
Last Rectify October 2003