Bose, Pramathanath

Bose, Pramathanath (1855-1935) geologist, was born on 12 May 1855 in Goipur in the district of 24 Parganas, west bengal. In 1872 he passed the Entrance examination from Krishnanagar College. After completing the FA in 1873, he was admitted to Saint Xaviers College, Kolkata, but soon proceeded to London on a scholarship. He obtained the BSc degree from London University in 1878. In 1879 he passed the Royal School of Mines examination and returned to India.

In 1880 Pramathanath joined the Geological Survey of India. As part of his duties, he conducted geological surveys in different areas of Madhya Pradesh. He discovered the Dhulli and Rajahara iron mines, as well as the iron mine at Jamshedpur (1903-4), where subsequently the Tata Iron and Steel Factory was set up. He also conducted geological surveys in Raniganj, Darjeeling, Sikkim and Burma. He taught in the department of Geology at presidency college for some time.

Pramathanath was executive secretary of the India Society in England, and the first honorary principal of the Bengal Technical Institute (at present Jadavpur University), established under the National Education Council from 1906 to 1920. He was a staunch believer in the expansion of science education through the medium of Bangla. He established the Bengal Academy of Literature, which was later merged with the vangiya sahitya parishad. He was also a member of the asiatic society of Bengal.

Pramathanath wrote many books and articles on education, culture and Hindu civilisation. From 1932 to 1934, he wrote an autobiography serialised in the Amrita Bazar Patrika. Pramathanath breathed his last on 27 April 1935. [Sambaru Chandra Mohanta]