K. Ananda Rau

K. Ananda Rau was an eminent Indian mathematician and a contemporary of Ramanujan. Though Rau was six years junior to Ramanujan, his mathematical trajectory, unlike Ramanujans, was very much a conventional one and he had decided to pursue a career in mathematics well before Ramanujans prowess became known.

Ananda Rau was born in Madras on September 21, 1893. He attended the Hindu School in Triplicane, Madras and then Presidency College of the University of Madras. After a brilliant academic record, he sailed to England in 1914 only a few months after Ramanujan. After finishing his Mathematical Tripos from Kings College, Cambridge, in 1916, he, like Ramanujan, came under the influence of Prof Hardy, who guided and initiated him into active research. At Cambridge, Rau and Ramanujan became good friends. Moreover, Ramanujans most devoted friend Ramachandra Rao, who was a District Collector, was Raus relative. Rao, was responsible for mentoring Ramanujan on seeing his prowess in research, and provided financial aid, took care of his daily needs and got him a clerks job at the Madras Port Trust. Though Rau met Ramanujan for the first time in England, he would have come to know of Ramanjuan through his relationship with Rao.

Source: Wikipedia