Bengal School of Number Theory during the 20th Century

Abstract

The research on Number Theory in Calcutta University started after the famous South Indian number theorist Dr. S. S. Pillai joined the Department of Pure Mathematics in 1942. Dr. Pillai has made substantial research work in the area of Number Theory and is famous for his work on Waring’s Problem. But apart from that he was the man who initiated a school of research dedicated to Number Theory in the University of Calcutta. He guided a brilliant student named L. G. Sathe, who solved a very important problem on Number Theory known as ‘Hardy’s Problem’. Another famous South Indian mathematician T. Vijayaraghavan joined the Dacca University in the erstwhile East Bengal in 1931. He inspired his student D. P. Banerjee there to work on Number Theory. Banerjee made handsome contributions in the field. In the 20^th Century, these researches along with those made by Pillai and Vijayaraghavan themselves during their stay in Bengal are the output of the Bengal school of Number Theory.