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Biography of Archimedes (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC)

Archimedes was a great mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer of his age. But generally, he is considered to be the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time. His contributions in geometry revolutionised the subject and his methods anticipated the integral calculus 2,000 years before Newton and Leibniz. He was also a thoroughly practical man who invented a wide variety of machines including pulleys and the Archimidean screw pumping device. He was born 287 BC in the seaport city of Syracuse, Sicily. He was the son of Phidias who was an astronomer. Though he had…

Biography of Satyendra Nath Bose (1894-1974)

Satyendra Nath Bose was a Bengali Indian physicist, specializing in mathematical physics. He was well-known for his work “Quantum mechanics” in the early 1920s, providing the foundation for Bose-Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose-Einstein condensate. He was born on January 1, 1894 in Calcutta. He was the eldest son of Surendranath and Amodini Devi. His father was employed in the Engineering Department of the East India Railway. He knew many languages and also could play Esraj (a musical instrument similar to violin) very well. Sateyendra nath Bose began his education at an elementary school and after that he…

Biography of Salim Ali (1896-1987)

Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist and also Known as the “birdman of India”. He was born on November 12, 1896, in a big Muslim family of Khetwadi in Mumbai. He had five brothers and four sisters. His mother’s name was Jijat-un-nissa. His father Moizuddin died when he was just one year old & mother died when he was three year old. His uncle Amiruddin Taiyabji aroused in him a curiosity towards bird. After the death of his parents, uncle Amiruddin and Aunt Begum Hamida raised all the children. It was a time when interest in…

Biography of Robert Millikan (1868 – 1953)

Every graduate student of physics learns about the classic experiment- Millikan oil-drop experiment to determine the electronic charge. The inventor of the experiment, the world renowned scientist Robert Andrews Millikan, was born on March 22, 1868 at Morrison, Illinois, USA. He came from a family of less means, finance and a large family. Since childhood, he had to do odd jobs to help supplement the family income. The family condition forced all the six siblings in the house to contribute their mite or little earnings, before they could get any formal education. In 1875, the Millikans moved to Maquoketa, in…

Biography of Professor Satish Dhawan (1920-2002)

Satish Dhawan was a pioneer engineer and Indian rocket scientist. He was born on September 25, 1920, in Srinagar, India. His father was a high-ranking civil servant of undivided India and retired as the resettlement Commissioner of Government of India at the time of partition. He completed graduation from the University of Punjab in Lahore (Now in Pakistan). He also completed B.A. in Mathematics and physics, and M.A. in English Literature and a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering. In 1947, he obtained an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Later, he moved to the California Institute of Technology,…

Biography of Professor Raj Reddy

Dabbala Rajagopal Reddy was born on June 13, 1937 in Katoor, Andhra Pradesh, India. His father Srdenivasulu Reddy was an agricultural landlord and his mother, Pitchamma, was a homemaker. He is a world-renowned researcher in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Human-Computer Interaction better known as “Professor Raj Reddy”. Currently, he is serving as the Director of the West Coast campus of Carnegie Mellon University, USA. He received his Becholor degree in civil engineering from Guindy Engineering College of the University, Madras, (Now Anna University, Chennai), India, in 1958. After that Professor Reddy moved to Australia, and there he received his Master’s…

Biography of Professor K R Ramanathan (28 Feb. 1893 – 31 Dec. 1984 )

Professor K R Ramanathan, a scientist with broad outlook was born on February 28, 1893 in kalpathi village in Palghat district of Kerala. His full name was Kalpathi Ramkrishnan Ramanathan. His mother’s name was Subbhalakshmi. His father was a scholar in Sanskrit and the Vedas, besides having deep knowledge of astronomy. When Ramanathan was 13 years old, his mother died. He then had to bear the responsibility of his four younger sisters and almost blind grandmother. He completed his primary and secondary education in his village. He was an intelligent boy, who maintained his first rank throughout his education. He…

Biography of Prof. Tribhuvandas Gajjar (1863- 1920)

Tribhuvandas Kalyandas Gajjar was India’s great scientist and Gujrat’s first and foremost chemist. He was born in August, 1863 in a well-to-do and prosperous Gajjar family of Surat. His uncle, Atmaram Gajjar was well-known personality. Atmarambhai’s ancestor, who belonged to carpenter family, had earlier settled in Dhanasuthar’s pole in Ahmedabad. A square named Gajjar square still exists there. Tribhuvandas’s father kalyandas was a well-known sculptor. He had also written a book called ‘The Art of Sculpture’. Tribhuvandas was the youngest of four sons and two daughters of Kalyandas. Tribhuvan was an intelligent child. He cleared every class with high grades….

Biography of Prof. J. J. Chinoy (1909 – 1978)

India’s great scientist and Gujarat’s famous Jamshedji Chinoy was born on February 19, 1909 in Kachchh-Bhuj. He was the son of Jijabhai & Gulbai Chinoy. He had his college education in Mumbai. In 1929, he cleared B.Sc. in Botany with a first class with distinction from Mumbai University. After losing his father at a very young age, he was brought up by his grandfather. Some years later, his grandfather too, passed away. With courage and hard work he surged forward. Considered a bright student in school and college, he regularly took part in various debates. Having stood first at the…

Biography of Prof U R Rao (The great Scientist of India)

Considered one of the leading space scientists in the world, Dr U R Rao was born on March 10, 1932, in Admar village in the south Canara district in Karnataka state. His father’s name was Lakshminarayan Rao and his mother’s name was Krishnavalli. His full name was Udupi Ramchandra Rao. He completed his school and college education from a place near his village. Very fond of reading during his school and college days, he was among the top rankers in class. He passed BSc with a first class in physics and joined the Varanasi (Benaras) Hindu University for his post-graduation….

Biography of Prafulla Chandra Roy (1861 – 1944)

Prafulla Chandra Roy is one of the famous scientists of India and also founder of Bengal chemical & Pharmaceuticals. This was the first pharmaceutical company of India. Considered as one of the components of the Bengal Renaissance, Prafulla Chandra Roy was an eminent scientist, an exemplary entrepreneur, a patriot and a passionate teacher. Prafulla Chandra Roy was born on August 2 , 1861 in Raruli- Katipara village, in the district of Khulna (Now in Bangladesh) and died on June 16, 1944. His father, Harish Chandra Roy who was a landlord with liberal views belonged to a wealthy cultured family to…

Biography of P.C. Mahalanobis (1893 – 1972 )

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was a great scientist and applied statistician. He is famous for the ‘Mahalanobis Distance’, a statistical measure. He did pioneering work on anthropometric variation in India. Professor Mahalanobis made valuable contributions to the development of statistical science in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to large-scale sample surveys. Scientist P.C. Mahalanobis was born on June 29, 1893. He was the son of Prabodh Chandra & Nirodbasini. His father was an active member of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. He started education from Brahmo Boys School in Calcutta. Then he completed graduation in physics from the…

Biography of Michael Faraday (22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867)

Michael Faraday (22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was a scientist, chemist, physicist and philosopher who greatly contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include that of the Magnetic Field, Induction, Diamagnetism and Electrolysis. Michael Farady was born at Newington, Surrey, now a part of South London on September 22, 1791. His father was a blacksmith who has migrated in search of work form the north of England in 1791. Due to ill health he faced lot of difficulties at work. His mother was a country woman of great calm and wisdom who supported her…

Biography of MEGHNAD SAHA (1893 – 1956 )

MEGHNAD SAHA was a great Indian scientist. He made remarkable contribution to the field of Astrophysics. He put forward an “ionization formula” which explained the presence of the spectral lines. Meghnad Saha belonged to a poor family and struggled to rise in life. He was born in Seoratali, Dacca district, now in Bangladesh, on October 6, 1893. He was the fifth child of his parents, Sri Jagannath Saha and Smt. Bhubneshwari Devi. His father was a petty grocer who barely managed to keep his large family from starvation. Meghnad Saha started his education in the primary school of the village….

Biography of Madame Marie Cruie (1867-1934)

Madame Marie Cruie was a French physicist and chemist famous for her work on radioactivity. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity and the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes, first in physics and second in chemistry. She was also the first female professor at the University of Paris. Maria Skłodowska was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland. Her father belonged to a farmer family, but studied at the Warsaw High School and took up teaching mathematics and physics there. Her mother was a good pianist. When Marie was 10 years old, she lost her…

Biography of M.K. VAINU BAPPU ( 1927-1982 )

Manali Kallat VAINU BAPPU was a great astronomer and president of the International Astronomical Union. Being one of the greatest astronomers of India, Vainu has contributed much to the revival of optical astronomy in Independent India. Vainu was born on August 10, 1927 to a senior astronomer in the Nizamiah Observatory, Hyderabad. He was the only child of Manali Kukuzhi and Sunanna Bappu. Vainu Bappu was not only excelled in studies but took active part in debates, sports, and other extracurricular activities. However, astronomy to which he was exposed from an early age became his passion. Being a keen amateur…

Biography of Lord Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871 in the southern island of Nelson, in New Zealand. His parents belonged to the Scottish farming community of England and had migrated to New Zealand in 1842. They were cultured and well educated. In 1889, Ernest won a scholarship to Nelson College, a secondary school, where he was a popular boy. Another scholarship allowed him to enroll in Canterbury College, from where he graduated with a BA in 1892 and an MA in 1893 with first-class honours in mathematics and physics. In 1895, Cambridge University announced scholarships for deserving students of British…

Biography of Komaravolu S. Chandrasekharan

Komaravolu S. Chandrasekharan is a famous scientist who worked in the fields of number theory and summability and also was a most successful editor of the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. He was a founder faculty of School of Mathematics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). K. Chandrasekharana was born on November 21, 1920 in Machilipatnam in modern-day Andhra Pradesh. He started his education from District Board School in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh. Then he joined high School at Bapatla in Guntur. After that he got his M. A. in Mathematics from the Presidency College, Madras and was a…

Biography of Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan (KSK) 1898-1961

Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan, generally known as K. S. Krishnan and KSK. Mostly he is known as co-discoverer of the famous Raman Effect, a discovery which brought the first and till date the only Nobel Prize in Science to India. The Prize was awarded to Krishnan’s mentor and research guide C.V. Raman in 1930. The citation for the Nobel Prize also stated that the Prize was given to Raman for his work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the effect named after him. In reality, there is no controversy. Raman deserved the Prize. KSK was an outstanding physicist…

Biography of John Logie Baird

The inventor of the television, John Logie Baird was born on August 13, 1888, at a hamlet Helensburgh, Dunbarton, near Glasgow, Scotland. Son of a Scottish engineer, he became the first man to televise pictures of objects in motion. The Youngest in the family, John was of weak constitution and often remained ill, especially afflicted with cold. This affected his study. He did not have any particular interest in reading. His only interest was photography. He was a member of his school photography club. Boys took photographs all by themselves. The club held a monthly competition wherein the best photograph…

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