Late Shakuntala Devi, known for her ability to make complex mental calculations, extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number mentally in the year 1977. Shakuntala Devi demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London on June 18, 1980, in just 28 seconds. Till date, it is known to be the fastest human computation.
She could also tell the day of the week of any given date in the last century spontaneously.
Guinness World Records on July 30, 2020, honoured Indian math genius, Shakuntala Devi, with the title for ''fastest human computation'', four decades after she achieved the feat.
She made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for her great ability and authored a number of books including 'Fun with Numbers', 'Astrology for You', 'Puzzles to Puzzle You', and 'Mathablity'.
On November 4, 2013, the google doodle celebrated her 84th birthday through an animated doodle that featured a calculator screen with a digital sketch of her, representing her “human computer” title.
Shakuntala Devi also wrote books on numbers, mathematics and homosexuality. Astrology for you, Book of numbers, Figuring: The joy of numbers, In the wonderland of numbers, Mathability: Awaken the math genius in your child, More puzzles to puzzle you, Puzzles to puzzle you, Super memory: It can be yours and The world of homosexuals are some of her works.
Born on November 4, 1929, Shakuntala Devi hailed from Bangalore. Shakuntala Devi's father was a circus performer who performed trapeze, tightrope and cannonball shows. Her father discovered her calculation abilities while she was playing cards with him. She won the game by simply memorising the cards.
Shakuntala Devi died on April 21, 2013, in Bangalore. She was suffering from respiratory ailments.
