Sisir Kumar Mitra
S.K. Mitra | |
---|---|
শিশির কুমার মিত্র | |
Born | Sisir Kumar Mitra 24 October 1890 |
Died | 13 August 1963 | (aged 72)
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | University of Calcutta |
Known for | Work on the ionosphere |
Spouse | Lilavati Biswas (1914–1939) |
Awards |
|
Scientific career | |
Fields | C.V. Raman Charles Fabry |
Other academic advisors | Jagadish Chandra Bose Marie Curie Camille Gutton |
Sisir Kumar Mitra (or Shishirkumar Mitra) MBE, FNI, FASB, FIAS, FRS (24 October 1890 – 13 August 1963) was an Indian physicist.[3]
Early life and education
Mitra was born in his father's hometown of Konnagar, a suburb of Kolkata (then Calcutta) located in the Hooghly District in the Bengal Presidency (present-day West Bengal).[4] He was the third son of Joykrishna Mitra, who was a schoolteacher at the time of Mitra's birth, and Saratkumari, a medical student whose family came from Midnapore.[4][5] While Mitra's paternal family were orthodox Hindus, his mother's family were adherents of the progressive Brahmo Samaj, and were noted in Midnapore for their advanced outlook.[5] In 1878, Joykrishna Mitra had joined the Brahmo Samaj and married his wife, against the wishes of his family, who responded by severing ties with him. As a consequence, the newly wed couple moved to Saratkumari's hometown of Midnapore, where Joykrishna and his wife had two sons – Satish Kumar and Santosh Kumar – and a daughter before Joykrishna moved his family to Kolkata in 1889; there, he became a schoolteacher. Mitra was born the following year.[5]
While in Kolkata, Joykrishna became acquainted with several distinguished scholars, notably Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Bipin Chandra Pal. Sharing Saratkumari's progressive outlook, Joykrishna secured his wife's admission as a student at Campbell Medical College. In 1892, Saratkumari qualified as a physician and received an appointment at the Lady Dufferin Hospital in the city of Bhagalpur, then in the Bengal Presidency (now in Bihar). The family thus moved to Bhagalpur, where Saratkumari began her new career, with Joykrishna securing a position as a municipal clerk. A third son, Mitra's younger brother Sarat Kumar, was born at Bhagalpur shortly after.[5]
In Bhagalpur, Mitra began school at the Bhagalpore Zilla School. Around 1897–1898, when aged six or seven, his interest in atmospheric science began after hearing the story of Ramchandra Chatterjee, a Bengali aeronaut who a year before Mitra's birth, on 4 May 1889, had become the first Indian to make a solo balloon flight.[5][6] The story prompted Mitra to ask his elder brother Satish Kumar about the principles of lighter-than-air flight; his brother explained as best as he could. A few years afterwards, both of Mitra's elder brothers died; following this death, Joykrishna soon had a paralytic attack and became disabled. Despite the family's increasing financial burdens, Saratkumari managed to educate her two surviving sons.[5] During his childhood and adolescence, Mitra nurtured his interest in science through reading popular scientific articles by leading Bengali scientists, including some by Jagadish Chandra Bose. After passing his examinations from the Bhagalpore Zilla school, Mitra was admitted to the FA (intermediate-level) program at the T.N.J. College; his father Joykrishna died shortly after.[5]
After passing his FA examinations in 1908, Mitra was admitted as a student in
University studies and research in France
To support his family, after leaving the University of Calcutta, Mitra secured an appointment as a lecturer at his former college, T. N. J. College.
After receiving his doctorate, Mitra left for
Research in India
Prior to returning to India, Mitra had corresponded with Ashutosh Mukherjee about the growing importance of
Awards and honors
- Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), 1938[8]
- Fellowship of the Royal Society, 1958[1]
- Fellow of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (FASB)[9]
- Fellow of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (FIAS; 1943)[10]
- Presidency of The Asiatic Society, 1951–53.[11]
- Presidency of the Indian National Science Academy, 1959–60.
- National Professorship, 1962.
- Padma Bhushan, 1962.[2]
- S. K. Mitra Center for Research in Space Environment of the University of Calcutta is named for him.
- The crater Mitra on the Moon is named after him.
References
- ^ .
- ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ S. K. Mitra, "The Upper Atmosphere", Calcutta, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1947.
- ^ a b c d "Professor S. K. Mitra: his pioneering work on radio science" (PDF). Current Science. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bhar, J. N. (1964). "Sisir Kumar Mitra 1890–1963" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy. 1: 106–127.
- ^ "The First Indian Aeronaut" (PDF). Indian Journal of the History of Science. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ .
- ^ "No. 34518". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1938. p. 3704.
- ^ The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science: Annual Report for the Year 1943. 1943. p. 2.
- ^ The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science: Annual Report for the Year 1943. 1943. p. 2.
- ^ "Sisir Kumar Mitra". Ideas of India. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
External links
- Media related to Sisir Kumar Mitra at Wikimedia Commons
- Biography
- Shri Shishirkumar Mitra
- Legends
- Resonance
- Vigyan Prasar