A Dream and Reality to Chemical Science in India - Acharya Prafulla Chandra Rây

Abstract

Acharya Sir Prafulla Chandra Rậy, a member of Companion of the Indian Empire (CIE, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire founded by Queen Victoria), Founder Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNI, Delhi which is now renamed as FNA), Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (FRASB, Kolkata), Fellow of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (FIAS, Kolkata), and Fellow of the Chemical Society (FCS, London), is a pathfinder and originator of India's modern chemistry – teaching and research, chemical industry, philanthropist, industrialist and educationist. He was born on August 2, 1861 in the village Raruli, Khulna, (now in Bangladesh). He learned science by attending as an external student, particularly chemistry from Prof. Alexander Peddler, Presidency College (now Presidency University, Kolkata). It was the only college, where science teaching started in pre-independent India. After receiving Gilchrist Scholarship, he joined the Edinburgh University UK in 1882 and received B. Sc. in Chemistry from Prof. Alexander Crum Brown in 1885 and D. Sc. in 1887. His research thesis entitled, "Conjugated Sulphates of the Copper-magnesium Group: A Study of Isomorphous Mixtures and Molecular Combinations" earned Hope Prize from the University. The double sulfates known in his times are a few only like Mohr’s salt (i.e., (NH4)2SO4,FeSO4·6H2O); cyanochroite, K2SO4, CuSO4·6H2O. Prafulla Chandra worked in the laboratory of organic chemist and the global research tempted to physical chemistry at that time. He found out more space in doubledouble sulphates, like Mm2SO4, MbSO4. 6H2O, Mm2SO4, MbSO4·6H2O (where Mm refers to monovalent; Mb or Mb refers to the bivalent metal ion). However, the structure of such salts was known much later, after the discovery of single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements in early 1930’s and the present form only appeared after 1960’s. Rây was elected as Vice-President of the University of Edinburgh Chemical Society in 1888 and the President was Prof. Alexander Crum Brown.