C.V. Raman

  • Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888 – 1970) received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery and was the first Asian to receive a Nobel Prize in any branch of science. He was one of the first recipients of Bharat Ratna (1954).
  • He completed his secondary and higher secondary education from St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School, Visakhapatnam at the age of 11 and 13, respectively. He topped the bachelor's degree examination of the University of Madras with Honours in Physics from Presidency College at age 16. 
  • Raman joined the Indian Finance Service in Calcutta as Assistant Accountant General at age 19 after obtaining his master's degree.
  • The Raman effect was discovered on 28 February 1928. The day is celebrated annually by the Government of India as the National Science Day.
  • Raman is the paternal uncle of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, recipient of the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics and grand uncle of Dr. Viswanathan Shanta, famous oncologist & chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai where she spent her career of over 60 years.
  • In a public speech, he once said, "There is no Heaven, no Swarga, no Hell, no rebirth, no reincarnation, and no immortality. The only thing that is true is that a man is born, he lives and he dies. Therefore, he should live his life properly."
  • Throughout life, Raman cared little for religious rituals and always referred to the beauty and creativity of nature when asked about his faith, but, strangely enough, there were a few external manifestations of Brahminism that he followed. He sported a tuft—a few strands of uncut hair usually lied into a topknot—that was seldom seen because he always wore a turban. He wore his sacred thread, or poonai. He remained a vegetarian; and he said his pariseshanam at every meal taken at home. - C.V. Raman: A Biography Paperback (2011) by Uma Parameswaran