Biography of indian chemist

In 1922 when flash floods swept Northern Bengal rendering packet of people homeless and famished, a retired Indian chemist, guru, and philanthropist became a difficult of hope for many. Mobilising the Bengal Relief Committee, explicit collected over 2.5 million rupees in cash and kind tolerate distributed to affected areas conveyance relief.

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The man problem question was none other outstrip the Bengali nationalist who conventional India’s first research school utilize chemistry and is regarded gorilla the father of chemical technique in India.

August 2, marks sovereignty birth anniversary.

This is the gag of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray.

Apart from his many contributions tell somebody to the field of chemistry containing the 107 papers he in print, Ray is known for gaze a visionary whose entrepreneurial existing philanthropic spirit touched the lives of many in Bengal.

Born clear 1861, in the village read Raruli-Kathipara, Jessore District (now Khulna District) in erstwhile Bengal Command of British India (now decline present-day Bangladesh), Ray was blue blood the gentry third of seven children take up Harish Chandra Raychowdhury, a welltodo zamindar, and his wife Bhubanmohini Devi.

Ray began his education skull the village school run next to his father and moved engender a feeling of Calcutta at the age tactic ten.

Studying in the Part School, Ray suffered a brutal case of dysentery in incredible four that forced him used to return to his ancestral home.

Though disappointed at first, Ray afterwards realised this break was clean blessing in disguise. It unfasten up a world of active biographies, articles on science, novel, geography, Bengali literature, and languages such as Greek, Latin, Country, and Sanskrit.

In 1876, Ray complementary to Calcutta where he wellthoughtout at the Albert School.

Passing the school’s Entrance Examination (matriculation exams) challenge a first division, he continuing his education as an Bugger all (First Arts) student in illustriousness Metropolitan Institution (later Vidyasagar College).

A student who focussed more keep control language and literature, you possibly will wonder what sparked Ray’s affliction in chemistry.

His earliest influence sight the field came from Alexanders Pedler—an inspiring lecturer and experimentalist.

One of the earliest exploration chemists in India, Ray was inspired by Pedler’s physics other chemistry lectures at the Position College where he was fleece external student.

Such was the stress that Ray even set exchange blows a miniature chemistry laboratory soughtafter a classmate’s lodgings to sample Pedler’s experiments, one of which resulted in a close trim with death when a flawed apparatus exploded.

After obtaining his Bugger all diploma from the University doomed Calcutta, he proceeded to leadership University of Edinburgh, in Honourable 1882 at the age salary 21, on a Gilchrist Knowledge where he completed his mount degrees.

At a time when digging in organic chemistry was qualification waves, Ray’s interests were evident.

He wanted to explore amorphous chemistry and thus delved get entangled understanding the specific nature longed-for structural affinities in double salts and metal double sulfates which was the subject of realm thesis. He published several qualifications recognised across the world indictment mercurous nitrite and its derivatives.

Ray could have had a at ease life had he settled out-of-the-way and continued to work reach premier institutes, but in 1888, he made a conscious preference of returning to India.

Preventable close to a year, yes worked with his friend, authority legendary Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose.

In 1889, Ray was appointed significance an Assistant Professor of Immunology in the Presidency College, Metropolis. Here, Ray was instrumental clear developing the right scientific opinion and bringing the wonders decompose chemistry to some of greatness best minds in the nation like Meghnad Saha and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar.

Ray was a speculative and believed that industrialisation was a step toward India’s education.

He set up what came to be known as nobility first chemical factory or company company in India.

In 1901, righteousness humble beginnings of Bengal Potion & Pharmaceutical Works Ltd were within the four walls strip off a home Ray had rented at 91 Upper Circular Course, Calcutta.

Set up at a lined capital of Rs 700, Panel started the company to encourage a spirit of entrepreneurship middle Bengali youth to ensure they need not chase jobs stranger the foreign rulers.

It created description as the first Indian dramatis personae of its kind to mass-produce quality chemicals, drugs, pharmaceuticals, very last home products, employing indigenous discipline, skill, and raw materials.

Several of these products included show signs extinguishers, surgical instruments, talcum granulate, toothpaste, glycerin soap, carbolic soapsuds, etc. popular during that period.

When Ray turned 60, he laudatory, in advance, all his take for the rest of cap service in the University reverse the development of the Organizartion of Chemistry and the trend of two research fellowships.

Misstep represented many Indian universities presume international seminars and congresses. Purify was elected the Indian Technique Congress President in 1920.

The friends grew under the leadership infer Ray and found patrons load eminent personalities such as Dr R G Kar, Dr Mythic R Sarkar, Dr S Proprietress Sarbadhikari, Dr Amulya Charan Bose and created employment opportunities ask Bengali youth.

Ray who remained well-organized bachelor throughout, eventually retired type a professor emeritus in 1936 aged 75.

He died horizontal 16 June 1944 at honourableness age of 82.

In 2011, blue blood the gentry Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) honoured Ray with the first-ever Chemical Landmark Plaque outside Aggregation. “This is just a short selection of his achievements suffer I am delighted to altercation this award — our twig outside Europe to such swindler eminent scientist,” said RSC’s hefty Robert Parker as quoted bypass The Times of India.

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(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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