Prafulla Chandra Roy

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P.C.Roy

Prafulla Chandra Roy (Bengali: প্রফুল্ল চন্দ্র রায়) was a Bengali academician, who spoke of entrepreneurship and himself showed that way. He was born on August 2, 1861,in the village Raruli-Katipara, in Khulna District (now in Bangladesh) and died on June 16, 1944. He studied in Hare School. He was a chemist and founded Bengal Chemicals.

In those days, he was known much as a college lecturer and scientist and not as an inventor. But P.C.Roy was a young scientist who was working on cattle bones in search of new medicines. He used to collect cattle bones from the butcher and store it in his house, where he experimented on them in his laboratory. His neighbours often complained about the unbearable odours from the rotten bones that were carried in the air and the crows that littered with the bones around his laboratory. Finally, he was forced by his neighbours to clear the collection of bones failing which they would call the municipal authorities.

A friend of his came to his rescue and offered him a piece of land to dump his collection of bones. Roy was once enquired by the police for the bones which he was burning. And he had a tough time to make them believe that those ware cattle bones which he had been using for experiments and not human bones to hide a crime.

He treated the ashes of cattle bone with sulphuric acid and the superphosphate of lime thus produced was mixed with soda, which in reaction formed a solution of phosphate of soda. This solution was then put into a large basin and boiled, which produced lumps of phosphate of soda crystals. This chemical compound formed from the cattle bones was a medicinal compound invented by Roy.

He started producing this medicine in the form of tonics on a large scale. Though it was more effective and cheaper than the imported medicines, many druggists hesitated to sell a local drug. But it became popular among the doctors who came to know the effectiveness of the medicine. Thus Roy’s researches lead to the beginning of the present Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works.

He was president of the 1920 session of the Indian Science Congress.

P.C.Roy developed his interest in science after reading the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and his famous ‘kite experiment’. Apart from science he was well versed in politics, economics and proficiency in English along with various other languages.

He remained a bachelor throughout his life who took active participation in politics. His main contribution to chemistry was the discovery of mercurons nitrite in 1896 and also the extraction of its several derivates. His contributions in the field of Chemistry were widely acclaimed.