CV Raman birth anniversary: Interesting facts about India's first Nobel laureate in the sciences

The birth anniversary of Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman or CV Raman is marked on 7 November each year. He was born in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu on 7 November, 1888. At the age of 16 years, he topped his undergraduate degree examination and won the gold medal in Physics at the University of Madras. He later received his MSc degree with the highest distinction from the same university. CV Raman won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the Raman effect in 1930. He was awarded India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1954. Here are some interesting facts that you need to know about one of the greatest Indian physicists:

• CV Raman was the first Indian, Asian and non-white individual to win a Nobel Prize for the sciences. Raman’s first research paper on the diffraction of light was published when he was doing his graduation in 1906.
• His career as an Assistant Accountant General began at the age of 19 years when he joined the Indian Finance Service in Kolkata.
• Though Raman was employed in the finance service, his heart was set on advancing his scientific pursuits.
• He was still doing research at IACS (Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science) and released papers in leading international journals like Nature and Physics Review.
• In 1917, he left his government job and accepted the offer of Palit Chair of Physics at Calcutta University.
• In 1919, Raman was awarded two honorary positions at the IACS- the Honorary Professor and Honorary Secretary. The IACS also allowed him to pursue independent research in his field of interest, including acoustics and optics.
• In 1933, Raman became the first Indian Director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in Bangalore. He remained at the post till 1937 and was the head of the physics department till 1948.
• Raman was the uncle of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics alongside William Fowler.
• He retired from the IISC in 1948 and established the Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru in 1949. He was the director and remained active in the institute till his death on 21 November, 1970.
• Throughout his life, CV Raman was the recipient of several awards including the Lenin Peace Prize and the Franklin Medal.

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