On 14 March Mathematics is celebrated all over the world. Initially, the day became known as Pi Day based on the fact that the spelling of the date (3/14) in some countries corresponds to the first three digits of the mathematical constant Pi (3,14...).
The founding father of the commemorative day is considered to be physicist Larry Shaw, who was employed at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. He saw the day as the perfect opportunity to bring all employees together and celebrated this date every year from 1988 onwards. By now people all over the world come together on Pi Day to eat "Pi(e)" or "Pi-zza" cakes, for example.
The International Mathematical Union (IMU) together with UNSESCO decided Pi Day as the International Day of Mathematics in 2019. On the official website (https://www.idm314.org/) a variety of events around the world can be found to mark the occasion. This year's motto is 'Mathematics for Everyone'.
In honour of this day we are displaying some literature on Pi and related topics from our collections. You can find these books at the entrance to the Mathematics Library.
