Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty
Surjo Kumar Chakraborty (c. 1826 in Kanaksar – 29 September 1874 in Kensington) was a surgeon, and he was one of the earliest Indians to practice modern medicine.
He studied at Medical College,Bengal and went to England for further studies. He was an M.R.C.S. and M.D.
He was the first Indian to join the Indian Medical Service.
He discarded a symbol of his religion after entering a particular professional institution. A regional entrepreneur Dwarkanath Tagore, partially sponsored the travel and education in abroad . He later changed his religion to Christianity, and added the last name of one of his teachers ( Professor Goodeve) to his own name. This conversion was even reported in a medical journal.
His grave can be found in Kensall Green Cemetery in West London. His name is in the register but incorrectly entered as "Soomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty".
References
- P. C. Sen Gupta (1970). "Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty: the first Indian contributor to modern medical science". Med Hist. 14 (2): 183–191. PMC 1034039 . PMID 4914687.