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Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Age, Death, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar

Bio/Wiki
ProfessionScientist
Famous forbeing the Founder Director of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 168 cm
in meters- 1.68 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 6”
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourBlack
Career
Fields• Physical chemistry
• Colloid chemistry
Major Organizations• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
• Banaras Hindu University (BHU)
ThesisSolubilities of bi- and trivalent salts of higher fatty acids in oils and their effect on surface tension of oils
Doctoral AdvisoryFrederick G. Donnan
Awards, Honours, Achievements Fellowship
• Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (1934)
• Foundation Fellow of the National Institute of Sciences of India (1934)
• Fellow of the Institute of Physics (1942)
• Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry (1942)
• Fellow of the Royal Society, London (1943)
Awards
• “Best Play of the Year” award for his play ‘Karamati’ from the Saraswati
Stage Society (1912)
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) (1936)
• Knighted by British Government (1941)
• ‘Padma Vibhusan’ by the President of India (1954)
Honours
• Honorary Member of the Society of Chemical Industry, London (1943)
• The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Prize for Science & Technology was originated in his honour(1958)
Personal Life
Date of Birth21 February 1894 (Wednesday)
BirthplaceBhera, Punjab Province, British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan)
Date of Death1 January 1955
Age (at the time of death)60 Years
Death CauseCardiac Arrest
Zodiac signPisces
SignatureShanti Swarup Bhatnagar's Signature
Nationality• British Indian (1894-1947)
• Indian (1947-1955)
School• A private maktab (1901)
• A.V. High School Sikandrabad, United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) (till 1907)
• Dyal Singh High School, Lahore (1908)
College/University• Dyal Singh College, Lahore (1911)
• Forman Christian College
• London University
Educational Qualification(s)• B.Sc. degree from the Forman Christian College (1916)
• M.Sc. in chemistry from Forman Christian College (1919)
• D.Sc. degree from London University (1921)
HobbiesReading and writing Urdu poetry, Conducting experiments
Relationships & More
Marital StatusMarried
Marriage Date31 May 1915
Family
Wife/SpouseLajwanti (died in 1946)
ChildrenSon-2
• Anand Swarup
• Devendra
Daughter-2
• Santosh Kumari
• Sudha
ParentsFather- Parmesliwari Sahai Bhatnagar (Teacher) (died on 26 October 1894)
Mother- Parbati Bhatnagar
SiblingsBrother- 1
Jainty Swaroop Bhatnagar
Sister- 1
Other Relatives Cousin- Panna Lal

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar

  • His father joined the Brahmo Samaj with Lala Raghunath Sahai.
  • After his father’s demise, he lived with his maternal grandfather, Pearcy Lal, an engineer and one of the first to qualify as an engineer from the famous Roorkee College.
  • He took an interest in his grandfather’s instruments, Euclid and algebra, and in making mechanical toys at a very early age.
  • Bhatnagar developed an interest in Urdu poetry since childhood. His maternal uncle Munshi Hargopal Tufta was a great Urdu poet and was titled ‘Mirza’ by the noted Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib.
  • His paternal grandfather, Rai Bahadur Munshi Manohar Lal Bhatnagar, held a judicial post and was considered a very honest person.
  • Moulvi Talib Ali Paband, Mohd. Ashraf and Lala Bishen Narain Mathur taught him the basics of sciences.
  • P. E. Richards, an Oxford graduate, was his professor of English Literature in the Dyal Singh College. His wife, Norah Richards, started the Saraswati Stage Society in Lahore. Later, Bhatnagar became an active member of the society.
  • He had a fascination for conducting experiments which involved the production of string telephones, electrical fields, and electrical batteries. He wrote a paper on “Fermentation Phenomena of Pomegranate Juice” which was published as an article.
  • The first research done by Bhatnagar was under his M.Sc. degree on the topic of surface tension. He did this research with Professors K. T. Compton and A. H. Compton. The thesis was titled “ The Effect of Absorbed Gases on the Surface Tension of Water.”
  • His wife was the daughter of his father’s friend Raghunath Sahai who was also the headmaster of Bhatnagar at the Dyal Singh College.
  • Bhatnagar’s daughter Santosh Kumari married Ramesh Prashad Bhatnagar. His son Anand Swarup got married to Shakuntala Bhatnagar on 11 July 1943. His younger daughter, Sudha, was born in 1927 and his younger son, Devendra, was born in 1929.

    In front row (Sifting) from left - Dr. Ramesh Prashud, Lady Bhatnagar, R. S. Raghunath Sahal with his great grand daughter, Mrs. Raghunath Sahai, Sir S. S. Bhatnagar. In back row (Standing) - Devendra, Mrs. Anand Swarup, Sudha Rani, Santosh Kumari, Anand Swarup

    In the front row (Sitting) from left – Ramesh Prashud, Lady Bhatnagar, R. S. Raghunath Sahal with his great-granddaughter, Mrs. Raghunath Sahai, Sir S. S. Bhatnagar. In back row (Standing) – Devendra, Mrs. Anand Swarup, Sudha Rani, Santosh Kumari, Anand Swarup

  • Bhatnagar failed in B. Sc as his marks in chemistry were insufficient. He then pursued his B. Sc with honours in Physics in 1916.
  • At Forman Christian College Bhatnagar became a demonstrator in the physics and chemistry departments. Later, at Dyal Singh College he became the Senior Demonstrator.
  • Bhatnagar had solved many Industrial problems. The first problem he faced was to search for methods to convert bagasse into foodcake for cattle.
  • He solved the mud problem faced by the Messrs Steel Brothers & Co., London. He lowered the viscosity of the mud suspension and increased the stability against the action of the electrolytes by adding an Indian gum.
  • Messrs Steel Brothers & Co., London offered him a huge amount which he used to establish the Industrial Research Department where important research and investigations were carried out.
  • The investigations carried out at the Industrial Research Department included – the deodorization of waxes, increasing the flame height of kerosene, lubrication, prevention of corrosion and utilization of waste products in the vegetable oil and mineral oil industries.
  • Bhatnagar also resolved various industrial problems including industrial problems of Delhi Cloth & General Mills, J.K. Mills Ltd. of Kanpur, Ganesh Flour Mills Ltd. of Layallapur, Tata Oil Mills Ltd. of Bombay, and Steel Brothers & Co. Ltd. of India.
  • He was introduced to professors like Haber, Freundlich, Bodenstein, Nernst, Einstein, Planck, Urbain, and Perrin during his research study at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, Dahlem, Berlin, and at the Sorbonne, Paris during the summer vacations at the London University.
  • After D. Sc, he received many offer letters including – Dehra Dun for Forest Research, the Dyal Singh College as Principal, and the North Western Railway as an analytical chemist.
  • Bhatnagar was offered a professorship in BHU by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. In 1921, Bhatnagar joined Banaras Hindu University (BHU) as a professor of chemistry. After BHU, he was appointed as a professor at the Punjab University.
  • He served at Punjab University for 16 years and his major studies include colloid chemistry and magneto-chemistry. The years he spent at Punjab University were considered the most active period of his life.
  • In 1928, Bhatnagar with Dr N. Mathur invented an instrument called Bh-M-I-B (Bhatnagar-Mathur Magnetic Interference Balance) for measuring magnetic properties.
  • Bhatnagar was appointed the Director of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1940. He also was the Secretary to the Ministry of Education in 1947 and 1948.
  • Bhatnagar was appointed the first secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Scientific Research set up in 1951. He also served as the Secretary to the Ministry of Education in 1947 and 1948.
  • In 1953, he became the first chairman of the University Grants Commission.
  • Bhatnagar is also known as the “Father of Indian Research Laboratories.” He played a vital role in establishing 12 national laboratories in India including the Central Food Processing Technological Institute at Mysore, the National Chemical Laboratory at Pune, and the National Metallurgical Laboratory at Jamshedpur.

    Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar with Jawaharlal Nehru

    Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar with Jawaharlal Nehru

  • A poetry collection was created by him titled ‘Lajwanti’ in which he wrote many poems in memory of his wife.
  • Bhatnagar wrote the book ‘Physical Principles and Applications of Magneto Chemistry’ co-authored by K. N. Mathur. He also wrote the ‘Kulgeet’ of Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
  • After his demise, many prominent leaders expressed their condolences including Jawaharlal Nehru. After his death, Jawaharlal Nehru said,

    I have always been associated with many prominent figures eminent in other ways, but Dr Bhatnagar was a special combination of many things, added to which was a tremendous energy with an enthusiasm to achieve things”

  • A Commemorative stamp was issued in 1994 on the birth anniversary of Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar.

    Bhatnagar on a commemorative stamp issued on 21 February 1994

    Bhatnagar on a commemorative stamp issued on 21 February 1994