Famous Indian Scientists and their Inventions

Famous Indian scientists and their inventions – Science is a very important part of our lives and the scientific inventions have paved the way for gadgets and various technologies, which we cannot live without. Did you ever wonder how the world would have been if the light was not invented?

Scientists spend hours and hours of research at the library or their work desk. They have the urge to bring about something new or innovative. Without the sustained efforts of one Thomas Alva Edison, the entire world would have been in darkness. Most of the scientists work relentlessly for the cause of humankind. Hence they are the ones who are more selfless and compassionate by nature.

Presenting some of the most famous Indian scientists and their inventions, for you in a nutshell:

1. Prafulla Chandra Ray

This man is known to hail from Bengal. Mr. Ray is a famous academician and a chemist. He lived between 1861 until 1944. He is the founder of the first pharmaceutical company in India. Namely Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals.

2. Salim Ali

Do you know that it was Salim Ali who was also known as the Birdman of India? He developed Ornithology. A selfless and compassionate person towards birds and the animal kingdom. Mr. Ali is also known for his tremendous nature conservation efforts. He lived between 1896 and 1987. 

3. Srinivasa Ramanujan

He is one of the most famous Indian mathematicians who managed to find worldwide acclaim. His interesting derivations and his ability to dabble with numbers find pages on textbooks of Mathematics even today. Mathematical analysis, number theory, continued fractions, and infinite series were the major contributions added by him. Though he lived a short life between 1887 and 1920, his contributions to Mathematics remain alive even today.

Ramanujan was born in the state of Tamil Nadu on the 22nd of December and this day is still celebrated as the “State IT Day” in the memory of the man and his amazing achievements.

4. C V Raman

CV Raman is a great Indian physicist. He had also won a Nobel Prize in 1930 for his Raman Effect. He lived between 1888 and 1970. He was also the very first non-White to receive the Nobel Prize in the field of science.

A fact still unknown to many is that he has studied the acoustics of various musical instruments and was the first person to study the “harmonic nature of the sound.”

5. Homi Jehangir Bhabha

Homi Jehangir Bhabha is a famous Indian theoretical physicist. He was born in 1909 and lived until 1966. He is famously known as the Chief Architect of the Indian atomic energy program. He is also known to the world as the “Father of Nuclear Power”. He is also the very first person to become the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.

6. Visvesvaraya

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born in 1860 and was a scholar and Indian Engineer. He served as the Diwan of the Mysore during the period 1912 to 1918. He is the man behind some of the marvels of engineering like the “block irrigation system” and the “automatic sluice gates”.  He was also the recipient of Bharat Ratna and India celebrates his birthday as Engineer’s Day.

7. Venkatraman Radhakrishnan

Born on the 18th of May in 1829 at Tondaripet, Venkatraman Radhakrishnan was a well-known space scientist and also a member of the “Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences”. He was an Astrophysicist and he worked in the field of design and fabrication of sailboats and light-weighted aircraft.

8. Jagadish Chandra Bose

Jagadish Chandra Bose is a famous exponent who has several feathers to his hat. He is a physicist, biologist, and an archeologist too. He was an Indian scientist who pioneered radio and microwave optics. Mr. Bose lived between 1858 and 1937.

9. Satyendra Nath Bose

He was a famous Indian physicist and a mathematician too. He collaborated with the world-famous scientist Albert Einstein. Thereby being instrumental in formulating a theory that explains gas-like qualities in electro-magnetic radiations. He lived between 1894 and 1974.

It is also said that Rabindranath Tagore has dedicated his book to science named Visva-Parichay in the year 1937 to Satyendar Nath Bose. He was also the winner of Padma Vibhushan which was awarded to him by the Government of India in the year 1954.

10. Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was a famous space scientist. He is also known as the ‘Missile Man of India. He has contributed immensely towards the development of India’s missile and nuclear weapons. He lived between 1931 until 2015. He has won numerous rewards and awards for his contribution towards missionary weapons. These were contributed to the Indian Army for protecting the soldiers against enemy nations. His autobiography titled ‘Wings of Fire’ is a world-famous publication. He was also a role model and source of inspiration for the younger generation of the country.

11. Har Gobind Khorana

Har Gobind Khorana is an Indian scientist who lived between 1922 and 2011. He was a biochemist who had won a Nobel Prize in 1968. He founded the theory on how the nucleotides in nucleic acids control the synthesis of proteins.

12. S S Abhyankar

S S Abhyankar is a famous Indian mathematician who was born during the year 1930. He is known for his outstanding contributions to the field of algebraic geometry.

13. Meghnad Saha

Meghnad Saha is a world-famous physicist of Indian origin. He was an astrophysicist who developed the co-relation between the physical and the chemical composition of stars. He lived between 1893 and 1956.

14. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar is one of the most renowned astrophysicists in India. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for his research on the evolutionary stages of massive stars. He lived between 1910 and 1995.

15. Raj Reddy

Raj Reddy is an award-winning computer scientist. He was born in the year 1937. He is known for his exciting contributions towards developing numerous forms of artificial intelligence systems. A man of Indian origin who has brought accolades to the nation.

16. Birbal Sahni

Birbal Sahni is an Indian paleobotanist. He is well-known for his research on the fossils of the Indian sub-continent. He was born in the year 1891 and lived until 1949.

17. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis is a famous Indian statistician and a mathematician too. He was the exponent who had founded the Indian Statistical Institute. Also abbreviated as ISI. He lived between 1893 and 1972.

18. Vikram Sarabhai

Known to the world as the “Father of India’s Space Program”, Vikram Sarabhai was the man behind the set up of the Indian Space Research Organization. It was he who convinced the then Indian Government about the importance of having a space program. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in the year 1966 and was awarded Padma Vibhushan in the year 1972, after his death.

The above mentioned are some of the famous Indian scientists who have contributed to the field of science and to the development of our country. So, let us take time to learn about those extraordinary minds who strived hard to make life easy for us.