Ashutosh Mukherjee
Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee CSI FRAS FRSE MRIA (anglicised, originally Asutosh Mukhopadhyay, also anglicised to Asutosh Mookerjee) (29 June 1864 – 25 May 1924) was a prolific Bengali educator, jurist, barrister and mathematician. He was the first student to be awarded a dual degree (MA in Mathematics and MSc in physics) from Calcutta University. Perhaps the most emphatic figure of Indian education, he was a man of great personality, high self-respect, courage and towering administrative ability. The second Indian Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta for four consecutive two-year terms (1906–1914) and a fifth two-year term (1921–23), Mukherjee was responsible for the foundation of the Bengal Technical Institute in 1906, which was later known as Jadavpur University and the University College of Science (Rajabazar Science College) of the Calcutta University in 1914.
Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee CSI, FRSE, FRAS, FPSL, MRIA | |
|---|---|
Ashutosh Mukherjee | |
| 22nd, 26th Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University | |
| In office 4 April 1921 – 3 April 1923 | |
| Preceded by | Nilratan Sircar |
| Succeeded by | Bhupendranath Basu |
| In office 31 March 1906 – 30 March 1914 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander Pedler |
| Succeeded by | Devaprasad Sarvadhikary |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 June 1864 Calcutta, Bengal, British India (now West Bengal, India) |
| Died | 25 May 1924 (aged 59) Patna, Bihar and Orissa, British India (now Bihar, India) |
| Resting place | Russa Road, Calcutta (Now 77 Ashutosh Mookerjee Road, Kolkata – 700025) |
| Citizenship | British |
| Spouse | Jogomaya Devi |
| Children | 4, including Syama Prasad Mukherjee |
| Relatives | Chittatosh Mookerjee (grandson) |
| Alma mater | University of Calcutta (B.A., M.A., M.Sc, LL.D.) |
| Occupation | Educator and the second Indian Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta Judge of the Calcutta High Court (1903–1924) |
| Awards | Knight Bachelor (1911) Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI, 1909) |
Mukherjee also played a vital role in the founding of the University College of Law popularly known as Hazra Law College. The Calcutta Mathematical Society was also founded by Mukherjee in 1908 and he served as the president of the Society from 1908 to 1923. He was also the president of the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress in 1914 held at the Rajabazar Science College, which he founded. The Ashutosh College was also founded under his stewardship in 1916, when he was Vice-chancellor of University of Calcutta.
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.