Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman -- born 1888; died 1970 Raman, known as C. V. Raman, was the uncle of a later Nobel laureate, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, the son of Ramans older brother C.S. Ayyar. Both of these Nobel Prize winners benefited from the home education and encouragement of their curiosity chosen by Ramans father and Chandrasekhars grandfather. Their childhood is described in a recent biography of the younger Nobel laureate. C. S. Ayyars and Ramans primary education was mostly under the tutelage of their father. They learned Tamil, arithmetic, and English at home till they were seven years old, a tradition C. S. Ayyar would continue with his children. For their secondary and higher secondary education, they attended the college in Vizagapatam where their father was the vice-principal and sometimes their teacher. R. C.s [the fathers] zest for learning and his varied interests, as we have seen, were phenomenal. He did his best to pass them on to his children. He was not satisfied to teach them just what was required in English, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and physiography. He urged them to read on their own. He read with me, recalls Chandras father in his history, Scotts Lay of the Last Minstrel, Shakespeares Coriolanus and portions of Miltons Paradise Lost. R. C. shared with his children his love for Indian classical music and his fine collection of books. Chandra: A Biography of S. Chandrasekhar by Kameshwar C. Wali (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991), page 44 © 1991 The University of Chicago, all rights reserved. Ramans parental education helped him graduate from high school at age eleven, finish college at age fifteen, obtain his masters degree at age seventeen, and gain a coveted civil service job by winning the highest score on a competitive examination at age eighteen. But Ramans personal goal was physics research, which he did in his spare time. Eventually he pursued a full-time career in physics, with great success.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 14:37:35 +0000
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