Famous 19th Century Indian Scientists

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.