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Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman

Mr. C. V. Raman by Ramananda Chatterjee from

On November 7, 1888, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born in Tiruchirappalli, Southern India. His father was a mathematics and physics instructor, therefore he was raised in an academic environment. He enrolled in Presidency College, Madras, in 1902, and completed his B.A. examination in 1904, receiving first place and the gold medal in physics; in 1907, he earned his M.A. degree with honours.

His first studies in optics and acoustics — the two subjects of study to which he has devoted his whole career – were conducted while he was still a student.

1. In 1907, Raman joined the Indian Finance Department

Since a scientific career did not appear to offer the best opportunities at the time, Raman joined the Indian Finance Department in 1907; though his official duties took up most of his time, Raman found opportunities for experimental research in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Calcutta (of which he became Honorary Secretary in 1919).

2. He was offered Calcutta University’s newly funded Palit Chair of Physics

The University of Calcutta by Theodore Julius Hoffmann from

In 1917, he was offered and accepted the newly established Palit Chair of Physics at Calcutta University. After 15 years in Calcutta, he became a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore (1933-1948), and he has been Director of the Raman Institute of Research in Bangalore since 1948 when he was founded and endowed.

3. He founded the Indian Journal of physics 

He also started the Indian Journal of Physics, of which he is the Editor, in 1926. Raman was a founding member of the Indian Academy of Sciences and has served as its President since its creation.

He also founded the Proceedings of that academy, where most of his work has appeared, and he is the President of the Current Science Association, Bangalore, which publishes Current Science (India).

4. Other investigations carried out by Raman were

Light diffraction touch screen by JMarty07 from

His practical and theoretical investigations on light diffraction by ultrasonic and supersonic acoustic waves (published 1934-1942), and those on the impact of X-rays on infrared vibrations in crystals exposed to conventional light Raman explored fundamental issues of crystal dynamics in a novel way in 1948 by examining the spectroscopic behaviour of crystals.

His group has worked on the structure and characteristics of diamonds, as well as the structure and optical behaviour of a variety of iridescent compounds (labradorite, pearly felspar, agate, opal, and pearls).

5. He was an Indian physicist well known for his work in light scattering

Was an Indian physicist well known for his work in light scattering? He and his student K. S. Krishnan found that as light passes through a transparent medium, the wavelength and frequency of the deflected light change.

This previously unknown sort of light scattering, which they named “modified scattering,” was later dubbed the Raman effect or Raman scattering. Raman earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his discovery, making him the first Asian to receive a Nobel Prize in any field of science.

6. He finished school pretty early

Raman was born to Tamil Brahmin parents and completed his secondary and upper secondary schooling at St Aloysius’ Anglo-Indian High School at the ages of 11 and 13, respectively.  At the age of 16, he topped the University of Madras bachelor’s degree exams with honours in physics from Presidency College.

7. The Raman effect was discovered on 28 February 1928

National Science day by Ministry of Science and Technology from

The Government of India observes the day as National Science Day every year. In 1954, the Government of India bestowed upon him the first Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour. He later shattered the medallion in protest of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s scientific research initiatives.

8. Raman had an association with the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi

He attended the BHU foundation ceremony and gave lectures on mathematics and “Some new routes in physics” during the university’s lecture series from February 5 to 8, 1916.  He was also a visiting lecturer on a permanent basis.

9. He had a self-arranged marriage

On May 6, 1907, Raman married Lokasundari Ammal (1892–1980).   His wife was 13 years old and the marriage was self-arranged. His wife subsequently joked that their marriage was more about “the additional allowance which the Finance Department granted to its married personnel” than about her musical aptitude (she was playing the veena when they first met).  

At the time, the supplementary allowance was INR 150 for married officers. The couple was accused of converting to Christianity soon after they arrived in Calcutta in 1907. It was because Lokasundari was attracted by church music and Raman by acoustics that they frequented St. John’s Church in Kolkata.

They have two sons, radio astronomer Venkatraman Radhakrishnan and Chandrasekhar Raman. Raman was the paternal uncle of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983.

10. He was an agnostic

Although Raman seldom discussed religion, he was an avowed agnostic who disliked being labelled an atheist. His father’s agnosticism impacted him greatly, as he followed the ideologies of Herbert Spencer, Charles Bradlaugh, and Robert G. Ingersoll.

He despised Hindu traditional rites yet refused to abandon them in family circles. He was also influenced by Advaita Vedanta’s philosophy. His defining look was a traditional pagri (Indian turban) with a tuft below and an upanayana (Hindu holy thread). Though wearing turbans were not common in South Indian culture, he justified his practice by saying, “Oh, if I didn’t wear one, my head would swell.”

He described his habit as follows: “Oh, my head would inflate if I don’t wear one. You all complement me so much that I need a turban to keep my ego in check.” He even ascribed the attention he received on his first visit to England to his turban, specifically from J. J. Thomson and Lord Rutherford.  He once remarked in a public speech.

C.V. Raman’s lecture encourages us since he taught us how to appreciate life in simple ways. Happiness is one of the God-given goods that cost nothing, according to C.V. Raman. We should appreciate nature.