Sudhamoy Ghosh

January 13, 1890 (age 80)

Bangladesh

In 1913, Sudhamoy Ghosh received a scholarship to the University of Edinburgh to pursue doctoral studies. At Edinburgh, he conducted research under the guidance of James Walker on the optical rotation of certain sugars. After receiving his doctorate in 1915, he became a research chemist at the Calcutta Medical College under Leonard Rogers, a prominent researcher in tropical medicine. In December 1921, he joined the faculty of the newly established Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine as Professor and Head of Chemistry, holding the position until his retirement. Over the course of his career, Sudhamoy Ghosh investigated numerous Indian medicinal plants for their chemical properties. Among those were Boerhaavia diffusa, from which he isolated the alkaloid punarnavine, and Sida cordifolia, from which he and A. T. Dutta isolated ephedrine. He and his students also isolated several new alkaloids during their research, including kurchine and kurchicine from the bark of Holarrhena antidysentrica, saussurine from Saussurea lappa and tylophorine from Tylophora asthmatica. Following his retirement in 1947, Ghosh was appointed to the West Bengal Public Service Commission, serving as a member until November 1950. He retired to Calcutta, where he died of a cerebral haemorrhage at his residence on Independence Day 1970, aged 80.

Sudhamoy Ghosh

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biochemist chemist Pharmacologist

Background

Sudhamoy Ghosh was born on January 13, 1890, in Dhaka district, then in the eastern region of the Bengal Presidency and now in Bangladesh. He was the son of Rasik Lal Ghosh, a civil servant, and his wife Kusum Kumari.

Education

After matriculating from high school and completing his intermediate degree in science from the Comilla Victoria Government College, he completed his bachelor's (1910) and master's (1912) degrees in chemistry from Dhaka College, then an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta.

Career

In 1913, Sudhamoy Ghosh received a scholarship to the University of Edinburgh to pursue doctoral studies. At Edinburgh, he conducted research under the guidance of James Walker on the optical rotation of certain sugars. After receiving his doctorate in 1915, he became a research chemist at the Calcutta Medical College under Leonard Rogers, a prominent researcher in tropical medicine. In December 1921, he joined the faculty of the newly established Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine as Professor and Head of Chemistry, holding the position until his retirement.

Over the course of his career, Sudhamoy Ghosh investigated numerous Indian medicinal plants for their chemical properties. Among those were Boerhaavia diffusa, from which he isolated the alkaloid punarnavine, and Sida cordifolia, from which he and A. T. Dutta isolated ephedrine. He and his students also isolated several new alkaloids during their research, including kurchine and kurchicine from the bark of Holarrhena antidysentrica, saussurine from Saussurea lappa and tylophorine from Tylophora asthmatica.

Following his retirement in 1947, Ghosh was appointed to the West Bengal Public Service Commission, serving as a member until November 1950. He retired to Calcutta, where he died of a cerebral haemorrhage at his residence on Independence Day 1970, aged 80.

Achievements

Sudhamoy Ghosh was twice selected (in 1929 and in 1942) as a nominator for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; on both occasions, he unsuccessfully nominated Sir Upendranath Brahmachari for the prize.

Membership

Sudhamoy Ghosh was fellow of Royal Institute of Chemistry , London

Connections

Sudhamoy Ghosh married Nirmala Guha (d. 1945), with whom he would have two daughters, Indira and Manju.

Father:: Rasik Lal Ghosh
Mother:: Kusum Kumari
Spouse:: Nirmala Guha

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Awards

Order of the British Empire

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Sudhamoy Ghosh

Background

Education

Career

Achievements

Membership

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Born

Died

Nationality

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Education

1912

1912

Career

December, 1921

Awards

Order of the British Empire