Famous 19th Century Indian Scientists

Vote for Your Favourite 19th Century Indian Scientists

Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

 1 
C.V. Raman
(Physicist)
C.V. Raman
32
Birthdate: November 7, 1888
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tiruchirappalli, Madras Province
Died: November 21, 1970
Indian physicist C.V. Raman earned the Nobel Prize in Physics after discovering the Raman effect. He was the first director of the IISc and founded the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Raman Research Institute. He destroyed his Bharat Ratna medal in protest against Jawaharlal Nehru’s policies on science.
 2 
Jagadish Chandra Bose
22
Birthdate: November 30, 1858
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Bikrampur, Bengal Presidency, British India (Now Munshiganj District of Bangladesh)
Died: November 23, 1937

Indian physicist, biologist, and plant physiologist Jagadish Chandra Bose revolutionized science with his research on how plants and animals react to external stimuli. He founded the Bose Institute, made pioneering contribution to the field of radio and microwave optics, and also penned one of the first works of Bengali science fiction.

 3 
Satyendra Nath Bose
(Indian Mathematician and Physicist, Best Known for His Work on Quantum Mechanics)
Satyendra Nath Bose
15
Birthdate: January 1, 1894
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kolkata, India
Died: February 4, 1974

Best known for working with Albert Einstein to form Bose–Einstein statistics, Indian scientist Satyendra Nath Bose was a master of quantum mechanics. He played the esraj, loved poetry, and had mastered quite a few languages. The Padma Vibhushan winner was also made a Fellow of The Royal Society.

Recommended Lists:
 4 
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
6
Birthdate: June 29, 1893
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kolkata
Died: June 28, 1972

Best known for conceptualizing the Mahalanobis distance, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was a renowned Padma Vibhushan-winning Indian statistician who played a major role in his country’s industrialization policies of the Second Five-Year Plan. He also taught at his alma, Presidency College, and was one of the founders of the Indian Statistical Institute.

 5 
Salim Ali
(Ornithologist)
Salim Ali
9
Birthdate: November 12, 1896
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Died: June 20, 1987

Known as the Birdman of India, legendary ornithologist Salim Ali was the first to conduct bird surveys in India. The Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan winner is best remembered for penning the book The Book of Indian Birds, and for setting up the Bharatpur and Ranganathittu bird sanctuaries.

 6 
Prafulla Chandra Ray
5
Birthdate: August 2, 1861
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Khulna
Died: June 16, 1944

Indian Bengali chemist Prafulla Chandra Ray founded the country’s first pharma company, Bengal Chemicals. Educated in Calcutta and Edinburgh, he later worked from his home, a room on the first floor of the college where he taught. Knighted for his achievements, he donated generous sums to the Brahmo Samaj initiatives.

 7 
Yellapragada Subbarow
(Biochemist)
Yellapragada Subbarow
3
Birthdate: January 12, 1895
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Bhimavaram
Died: August 9, 1948

Yellapragada Subbarow was an Indian biochemist who is credited with developing methotrexate, an immune-system suppressant and chemotherapy agent which is widely used to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer. He also helped American plant physiologist Benjamin Duggar discover chlortetracycline, the world's first tetracycline antibiotic.

 8 
Janaki Ammal
(Botanist)
Janaki Ammal
4
Birthdate: 1897 AD
Birthplace: Thalassery
Died: 1984 AD

Janaki Ammal was an Indian botanist whose work concerning phytogeography, cytogenetics, and plant breeding earned her India's fourth-highest honor, the Padma Shri, in 1977. She is credited with improving India’s indigenous sugarcane varieties. She also helped analyze sugarcane's geographical distribution across India.

 9 
Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar
(Father of research laboratories)
Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar
4
Birthdate: February 21, 1894
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Bhera
Died: January 1, 1955

Known as the father of research laboratories, Indian physical chemist Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar was a BHU professor. An avid poet, he also penned the kulgeet of the university. He was the first chairman of UGC, headed CSIR, and played a key role in setting up many R&D labs in India.

 10 
Birbal Sahni
(Palaeobotanist)
Birbal Sahni
6
Birthdate: 1891 AD
Birthplace: Saharanpur district
Died: April 10, 1949

Birbal Sahni was a pioneer of palaeobotanical research in India. The founder of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, he also taught botany at BHU and Lucknow University. He was also interested in music and tennis, and loved collecting coins. He was a Fellow of The Royal Society, too.

 11 
Upendranath Brahmachari
5
Birthdate: December 19, 1873
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Jamalpur
Died: February 6, 1946

The son of an East Indian Railways physician, leading Indian scientist and doctor Upendranath Brahmachari was the first to use Urea-Stibamine as a treatment for Kala-azar. Apart from winning honors such as the knighthood and the title of Rai Bahadur, he was also nominated for the Nobel Prize twice.

 12 
Ziauddin Ahmad
(Indian Mathematician)
Ziauddin Ahmad
2
Birthdate: February 13, 1878
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died: December 23, 1947

Ziauddin Ahmad was an Indian mathematician, logician, educationist, scholar, natural philosopher, and politician. He played a prominent role in educating the Muslims at a time when the Muslim community was in dire straits amidst the worsening political situation in the Indian subcontinent. He also played a significant role in developing the Aligarh Muslim University.

 13 
R. P. Paranjpe
R. P. Paranjpe
1

R. P. Paranjpe was an Indian mathematician and librarian. He became the first Indian to achieve the title of Senior Wrangler, which is regarded as the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain. In 1907, he also became the first librarian of Fergusson College's Indian Mathematical Society (IMS).

 14 
Raghunath Dhondo Karve
Raghunath Dhondo Karve
3

Raghunath Dhondo Karve was an Indian social reformer and professor of mathematics. A pioneer in initiating birth control in Mumbai, Raghunath Dhondo Karve began the first Indian birth control clinic in 1921. He played an important role as a reformer, promoting women's empowerment and gender equality in an otherwise patriarchal society.

 15 
Ganesh Prasad
(Mathematician)
Ganesh Prasad
3
Birthdate: November 15, 1876
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died: March 9, 1935

Ganesh Prasad was an Indian mathematician who played an influential role in developing the culture of mathematical research in the Indian subcontinent. Several mathematicians consider him the Father of Mathematical Research in India. He also played a significant role in the improvement of primary education in rural India.

 16 
Ramchundra
Ramchundra
3

Ramchundra was a British-Indian mathematician whose work impressed renowned mathematician Augustus De Morgan, so much so that Morgan promoted Ramchundra's book titled Treatise on Problems of Maxima and Minima in order to bring his work to the notice of the scientific community in Europe.

 17 
Bapudeva Sastri
(Scholar)
Bapudeva Sastri
0
Birthdate: November 1, 1821
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Pune, Maharashtra, India

Bapudeva Sastri was an Indian scholar renowned for his work in mathematics and Sanskrit. He is credited with translating the Siddhānta Shiromani, a 12th-century treatise written by Bhaskaracharya on mathematics. He was also responsible for publishing the translated version of the treatise in 1891. 

 18 
I. C. Chacko
(Philologist, Geologist)
I. C. Chacko
1
Birthdate: December 25, 1875
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Alappuzha, Kerala
Died: May 27, 1966