Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray
Prafulla Chandra Ray (1861-1944), also known as the "Father of Indian Chemistry", was a well-known Indian scientist and teacher who was one of the first "modern" Indian chemical researcher.
• In 1896, he discovered mercurous nitrite, a stable compound.• He was first given the imperial title of CIE (Companion of the Indian Empire) by the British government, and then knighted in 1919.
• He was appointed General President of the Indian Science Congress in 1920.
• He was an outspoken rationalist who hated the caste system and other irrational social constructs. He persisted in his social reformation mission until his death.
• As a nationalist, he also wished for Bengalis to advance in the business world. He set an example by founding the Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works Pvt Ltd, a chemical company (1901).
• Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited, based in Kolkata, is India's only public-sector manufacturer of anti-malarial drugs.
• Prafulla Chandra Ray was the author of many books, including the ‘History of Hindu Chemistry – From the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century AD,' which recorded India's indigenous chemical practises from the Vedic period onwards.
• In 1896, he published a paper on the preparation of mercurous nitrite, a new stable chemical compound. It paved the way for a host of research papers on metal nitrites and hyponitrites, as well as ammonia nitrites and organic amines.
• On the 150th anniversary of his birth, the Royal Society of Chemistry dedicated its prestigious Chemical Landmark plaque to Ray, the first non-European to receive the honour.