Frédéric François Chopin, born on 1 March 1810 and died on 17 October 1849 at age 39, was a Polish and French composer and a virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era, who wrote primarily for the solo piano [1]. Today, 1 March 1810 marks Chopin’s 206th birthday and I constructed the following numerical brainteasers as a tribute for him:
1. Chopin’s new birthday number 206 in 2016 is numerically special because it equals twice 103 where 103 represent 1-03, Chopin’s birth date, 1 March. In addition, removing digit “1” from 2016 results in 206.
2. The sum of the digits of Chopin’s birthday 1031810 equals 14 and the 14th prime number is 43. Interestingly enough, Chopin died in 1849 which equals 43 x 43. Also, if the even- and odd-numbered digits of 1849 are split as 14 and 89, these two numbers add up to 103 (Chopin’s birth date 1-03).
3. Asteroid # 3784 is named after Frédéric Chopin and amazingly, half of 3784 equals 1849 plus 43.
4. Chopin died on 17101849 (17 October 1849) at 39. Note that 39 equals 3 times 13 where 13 represents 1-3, Chopin’s birth date, 1 March. Further, the digits of 17101849 add up to 31 which also represents March 1st expressed in month-day date format.
5. This year, 17 October 2016 will mark the 167th anniversary of Chopin’s death in 1849 where 167 is the 39th prime number and 39 is the age Chopin died. Also, the sum of the digits of 167 is 14 where again, the 14th prime number is 43 and 43 x 43 yields 1849.
6. Additionally, 17 October (1710) coincides with the 291st day of 2016 where the sum of the prime factors of 291 equals 3 + 97 = 100. Interestingly enough, 1710 plus 100 yields 1810, Chopin’s birth year.
7. Moreover, if the date Chopin died expressed as 17101849 is split into 1710 and 1849, these two numbers differ by 139 which equal 100 plus 39. Again, note that 1710 plus 100 yields 1810 (Chopin’s birth year) and 39 is the age Chopin died. In addition, 139 is the 34th prime number where reverse of 34 is 43 and square of 43 yields back 1849. Also, the digits of 139 add up to 13 which represents 1 March (Chopin’s birth date) and the product of the digits of 139 equals 27 where the 27th prime number is 103, again representing 1 March. In addition, 27 equals 3 x 9 where 3 and 9 are the digits of 39, the age Chopin died. Also, 27 equal the sum of 17 and 10 which side by side make 1710 representing 17 October, the day Chopin died.
8. If Chopin’s birthday 1031810 is split as 103 and 1810, reverse of 103 plus 1810 results in 2111, which when reversed equals 8 times 139 where 139 is the difference between 1710 and 1849 which make up 17101849.
9. Further, Chopin’s 206th birthday coincides with the 61st day of 2016 where reverse of 61 matches the rightmost two digits of 2016. In addition, the 61st prime number is 283, which when reversed equals twice 191 where 191 is the 43rd prime number.
10. Lastly, Chopin’s 250th birthday to occur in 2060 expressed as 1032060 is also numerically special because if this date is split as 103 and 2060, 2060 is 103 times 20. Also, the prime factors of reverse of 103, namely 301, add up to 7 + 43 = 50 and the product of 50 and its reverse, namely 05, yields 250.
Happy 206th birthday to Chopin!
Aziz Inan
[1] Frédéric Chopin, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin
