Background
Ram Nath Chopra was born on August 17, 1882 in Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan. His father Raghu Nath was a government official.
physician medical service officer
Ram Nath Chopra was born on August 17, 1882 in Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan. His father Raghu Nath was a government official.
After school in Lahore he went to the Government College there and then went to England in 1903 and studied at the Downing College, Cambridge. In 1905 he qualified in the Natural Sciences Tripos and was admitted Bachelor of Arts. He received a Bachelor of Medicine in 1908 and an Master of Arts in 1909.
Ram Nath Chopra was commissioned a lieutenant in the Indian Medical Service on 1 August 1908 and promoted to captain on 1 August 1911. He saw active service in East Africa and in the Afghan War of 1919. He was promoted to the temporary rank of major on 7 May 1919 and confirmed in the substantive rank on 1 August 1920, (back-dated to 1 February 1920).
In 1922 Ram Nath Chopra was appointed Professor of Pharmacology at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine which had been established the year before. He took a special interest in indigenous drugs and noted that a key aim for India should be self-sufficiency in drug resources. He conducted pioneering studies on herbal remedies including Rauwolfia serpentina. He headed a Drugs Enquiry Committee of 1930-1931 which examined the need for imports, control and legislation.