Nearly 90 years after Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi co-shared the 1909 Nobel Physics Prize with Karl Ferdinand Braun for development of wireless telegraphy, the US-based IEEE (Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers) has in a special issue in January 1998 reported that it was Sir Jagadish, who first invented wireless communication, which was at least a year before Marconi did. [Image courtesy]
This means Sir Jagadish should have been the Nobel Prize winner in place of Marconi, had he decided to patent his invention, which he didn’t but Marconi did. Sir Jagadish didn’t believe in patenting his discoveries because he felt that by doing so it would deprive science of its progress. Instead he welcomed others to build upon his works, which is how Marconi eventually came to be recognized for consideration of Nobel Prize.
But Sir Jagadish was a person of many talents. To him go the honors of several other firsts, some of which are as under:
He was the first Indian to teach science in the prestigious Presidency College of Calcutta in 1885.
He became the first science fiction writer in Bengali, when his Niruddesher Kahini was published in 1896.
He was the first Indian to get a US Patent (No: 755840) in 1904. His colleagues did this for him in spite of his obvious reluctance.
He earned knighthood in 1916 in recognition of his talent.
He invented crescograph in 1927 to show that plants have life and respond to various stimuli.
And of course, he could have been the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize.
Today, on his 148th birth anniversary, our heads bow to this multifaceted persona. In today’s frenetic times, it may not be customary to remember the great sons of soil, but Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose shall remain the pioneer of pioneers in all time to come.
Related reading:
- Jagadish Chandra Bose – Beyond Contemporary Comprehension
- Another JC Bose birthday set to pass off silently
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