Meghnad Saha was born on 6 October 1893 in Sheoratali village near
Dhaka in present day Bangladesh. His father Jagannath Saha was a grocer inthe village. After primary education, he was admitted to a middle school thatwas seven miles away from home. He stayed with a doctor near the schooland had to work in that house to pay for his boarding and lodging. Overcomingall these difficulties, he stood first in the Dhaka middle school test, thussecuring a Government scholarship and joined the Dhaka Collegiate School
in 1905.
Dhaka in present day Bangladesh. His father Jagannath Saha was a grocer inthe village. After primary education, he was admitted to a middle school thatwas seven miles away from home. He stayed with a doctor near the schooland had to work in that house to pay for his boarding and lodging. Overcomingall these difficulties, he stood first in the Dhaka middle school test, thussecuring a Government scholarship and joined the Dhaka Collegiate School
in 1905.
Great political unrest was prevailing in Bengal, caused by the partition
of the province by the British against strong popular opinion. Meghnad Saha
was among the few senior students who staged a boycott of the visit by the
then Governor, Sir Bampfylde Fuller and as a consequence forfeited his
scholarship and had to leave the institution. He then joined the Kisori Lal
Jubilee School where he passed the entrance test of the University of Calcutta
standing first among students from East Bengal. He graduated from Presidency
College with mathematics as his major.
He then joined the newly established Science College in Kolkata as a
lecturer and pursued his research activities in physics. By 1920, Meghnad
Saha had established himself as one of the leading physicists of the time. His
theory of high-temperature ionization of elements and its application to stellar
atmospheres, as expressed by the Saha equation, is fundamental to modern
astrophysics; subsequent development of his ideas has led to increased
knowledge of the pressure and temperature distributions of stellar atmospheres.
In 1920, Saha went to Imperial College, London and later to Germany.
Two years later he returned to India and joined the University of Calcutta as
Khaira Professor. He then moved to the University of Allahabad and remained
there till 1938, establishing the Science Academy in Allahabad (now known
as the National Academy of Science). In 1927, he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of London.
He returned to the University of Calcutta in 1938 where he introduced
nuclear physics into the post-graduate physics curriculum. In 1947 he
established the Indian Institute of Nuclear Physics (now known as the Saha
Institute of Nuclear Physics). Later in his life, Saha played an active role in
the development of scientific institutions throughout India as well as in national
economic planning involving technology
of the province by the British against strong popular opinion. Meghnad Saha
was among the few senior students who staged a boycott of the visit by the
then Governor, Sir Bampfylde Fuller and as a consequence forfeited his
scholarship and had to leave the institution. He then joined the Kisori Lal
Jubilee School where he passed the entrance test of the University of Calcutta
standing first among students from East Bengal. He graduated from Presidency
College with mathematics as his major.
He then joined the newly established Science College in Kolkata as a
lecturer and pursued his research activities in physics. By 1920, Meghnad
Saha had established himself as one of the leading physicists of the time. His
theory of high-temperature ionization of elements and its application to stellar
atmospheres, as expressed by the Saha equation, is fundamental to modern
astrophysics; subsequent development of his ideas has led to increased
knowledge of the pressure and temperature distributions of stellar atmospheres.
In 1920, Saha went to Imperial College, London and later to Germany.
Two years later he returned to India and joined the University of Calcutta as
Khaira Professor. He then moved to the University of Allahabad and remained
there till 1938, establishing the Science Academy in Allahabad (now known
as the National Academy of Science). In 1927, he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of London.
He returned to the University of Calcutta in 1938 where he introduced
nuclear physics into the post-graduate physics curriculum. In 1947 he
established the Indian Institute of Nuclear Physics (now known as the Saha
Institute of Nuclear Physics). Later in his life, Saha played an active role in
the development of scientific institutions throughout India as well as in national
economic planning involving technology
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