Indian mathematician and astrologer (born 1929)

Shakuntala Devi

Shakuntala Devi was an Indian mental calculator, astrologer, and writer, popularly known as the "Human Computer". Her talent earned her a place in the 1982 edition of The Guinness Book of World Records. However, the certificate for the record was given posthumously on 30 July 2020, despite Devi achieving her world record on 18 June 1980 at Imperial College, London. Devi was a precocious child, and she demonstrated her arithmetic abilities at the University of Mysore without any formal education.

Born

1929

November 4

Died

2013

Era

1920s

Country

—

About

Shakuntala, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1929 Born
2013 Died

Also on November 4

What else happened on this day, through history

512 Following Byzantine emperor Anastasius' deposition of Chalcedonian patriarchs and attempts to make Monophysite changes to liturgy, riots break out in Constantinople with a mob trying to proclaim Areobindus as emperor.
1354 War of the Straits: The Genoese fleet under Paganino Doria defeats and captures the entire Venetian fleet under Niccolò Pisani at the Battle of Sapienza.
1429 Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.
1493 Christopher Columbus reaches the Leeward Islands.

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The world in 1929

When Shakuntala arrived

april 14 The inaugural Monaco Grand Prix takes place in the Principality of Monaco. William Grover-Williams wins driving a Bugatti Type 35.
april 6 Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
august 11 Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
august 16 The 1929 Palestine riots break out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on November 4

Alfred Lee Loomis 1887– American physicist and philanthropist (died 1975) Bernard Francis Law 1931– Mexican-American cardinal (died 2017) Carlos Baerga 1968– Puerto Rican baseball player and coach Dustin Brown 1984– American ice hockey player Hu Zongxian 1512–1565 Chinese general (born 1512) Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu 1900–1954 Romanian lawyer and politician, Romanian Minister of Justice (born 1900) Nikolaos Plastiras 1883–1953 Greek general and politician, 135th Prime Minister of Greece (born 1883) Roger Wilbraham 1553–1616 Solicitor-General for Ireland (born 1553) Wayne Static 1965–2014 American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1965)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1929

Al Davis 1929–1945 American football player, coach, and manager (died 2011) Alasdair MacIntyre 1929– Scottish-American philosopher and academic (died 2025) Anne Frank 1929– German-Dutch diarist; victim of the Holocaust (died 1945) Barbara Walters 1929–2022 American journalist, producer, and author (born 1929) Benny Golson 1929–2024 American saxophonist and composer (died 2024) Bernard Haitink 1929–2021 Dutch violinist and conductor (died 2021) Bill Foster 1929–2016 American basketball player and coach (died 2016) Bob Denard 1929–2007 French soldier (died 2007) David Tonkin 1929–2000 Australian politician, 38th Premier of South Australia (died 2000)

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More to explore

Shakuntala's birthday November 4 Shakuntala's zodiac Scorpio When Shakuntala arrived 1929