Monthly Archives: April 2013

Srinivasa Ramanujan – 16×16 Biography Magic Square

This Biography Magic Square summarizes the important events that in the life of Sri Srinivasa Ramanujan.

How it was constructed:

Important dates in the life of Ramanujan were taken, two digits at a time, representing either the date or the month or the first or second part of the four-digit year. As an example, Ramanujan’s birth-day 22-12-1887 is taken in four separate entries as 22 12 18 87. These were then laid out in the top of the Magic Square, in the first column. Then, a complete Magic Square was built on top of these numbers, with the following additional feature : each  square indicated by a separate color (in this case, there are 4 such 4×4 sub-sqaures), which are magic squares themselves!

Srinivasa Ramanujan 16x16 biography Magic Square
Srinivasa Ramanujan 16×16 biography Magic Square

(Download Ramanujan_16x16_biography_Magic_Square in excel format).

This is a smaller version of the 100-by-100 and 125-by-125 biography magic squares that we have constructed.

This was earlier published in an article “A Unique Novel Homage to the Great Indian Mathematician” in the March 2013 (Volume 23, Pg 146-147) Mathematics Newsletter published by the Ramanujan Mathematics Society. (download free).

If you find this interesting, you could construct your own! If you want some help, drop a mail to me at contact[at]jollymaths[dot]com.