Mookerjee, Asutosh, Sir, 1864-1924

Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee (anglicised, originally Asutosh Mukhopadhyay, also anglicised to Asutosh Mookerjee; 29 June 1864 – 25 May 1924) was an Indian mathematician, lawyer, jurist, judge, educator, and institution builder. A unique figure in Indian history, he made major contributions in the fields of mathematics, law, and higher education. A holder of Masters degrees in both Mathematics and Natural Sciences, he was one of the first Indians to publish research papers in British journals. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh at the age of 22, and was a Fellow or Member of various learned bodies in Europe and the United States (as noted below). Next, Mukherjee passed his law examination and built a successful law practice. He became a law professor and a judge of the Calcutta High Court, and acted as the Chief Justice on couple of occasions. "It was his ambition that Calcutta should become a centre of learning and research," noted his obituary in Nature (1924). As the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta (1906–1914 and 1921–23), Mukherjee transformed an examination conducting, degree granting body into one of Asia's top research universities. He started new departments for post graduate study in various disciplines, raised funds to create new chaired professorships and build facilities, hired outstanding professors in diverse fields of study (including Asia's first Nobel Prize winning scientist Sir C.V. Raman), and supported graduated students in their efforts to pursue advanced research. Mukherjee was the president of the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress (1914). He played a major role in the foundation of several major institutions and scholarly societies. He is often called "Banglar Bagh" ('The Bengal Tiger') for his high self-esteem, courage and academic integrity. According to historian D. R. Bhandarkar, the epithet 'Vikramaditya' is also ascribed to Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee.