Before India's independence from British rule, there were fewer options for Indians for higher education in the country. After their schooling, many Indian geniuses got scholarships and went abroad to pursue further study. They later returned to India and contributed to society in many ways. One such person was Prafulla Chandra Ray.
He was a well-known Indian scientist and an industrialist who founded India's first pharmaceutical company, Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals. Ray was one of the first modern Indian chemical researchers and is regarded as the Father of Indian Chemistry.
He also worked as a teacher and established the first modern Indian research school in Chemistry. Ray was born in 1861 in Bengal Presidency in British India (now in Bangladesh). Ray moved to Calcutta in 1876 and was admitted to the Albert School. He passed the FA exam in 1881 and was admitted to the BA degree of the University of Calcutta as a chemistry student.
In 1882, Prafulla won a scholarship to Edinburgh University and moved to the UK at the age of 21. He enrolled as a BSc. student at the university without completing his original degree. He was also awarded a DSc. in 1887 and the 'Hope Prize' for his thesis on 'Conjugated Sulphates of the Copper-Magnesium Group'.
After spending a few years in the UK, Ray returned to India (Calcutta) in 1888. He joined Presidency College as an assistant professor of Chemistry in 1889. He worked for many years at Presidency College in Calcutta and then at Calcutta University. This Indian genius published around 150 research papers during his lifetime. He retired in 1936 at 75 and remained a bachelor throughout his life. Ray passed away at the age of 82 in June 1944.
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