Shankar Purushottam Agharkar (18 November 1884 – 1 September 1960) was an Indian Morphologist. Agharkar obtained his PhD degree (1919) from the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, Germany. His specialization was in

Plant Morphology Phytomorphology is the study of the physical form and external structure of plants.Raven, P. H., R. F. Evert, & S. E. Eichhorn. ''Biology of Plants'', 7th ed., page 9. (New York: W. H. Freeman, 2005). . This is usually considered distinct from pl ...

. He was the Ghosh Professor of Botany (1920–47) at the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

; and Founder Director (1946–60) of Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science. He is one of the leading

botanists This is a list of botanists who have Wikipedia articles, in alphabetical order by surname. The List of botanists by author abbreviation is mostly a list of plant taxonomists because an author receives a standard abbreviation only when that aut ...

of India. He explored biodiversity of Western Ghats where he came across a species of freshwater jellyfish, which was until then only known to be found in Africa. These findings were published in scientific journal Nature in 1912. Dr. Annandale, the Superintendent of the Indian Museum in Kolkata, helped Dr. Agharkar in his further endeavours to collect, preserve and conduct microscopic examinations of animal and plant specimens. The institute ARI, Pune has been named after him.

Early life

He was born in 1884. Since childhood he was fascinated by plants and animals which led him to discover a new species of

jellyfish Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...

. He was known for his accurate information and detailed observations.

Education

Later C.V.Raman recommended him for the Ghosh professorship at Calcutta (now known as Kolkata). He went to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to obtain the PhD degree from the

in 1919 but was imprisoned as the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out. However he completed his PhD in jail and returned to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Awards and honours

*Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science Research Institute, was renamed in 1992 as the

Agharkar Research Institute The Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; t ...

(ARI) in honour the Founder Director. *Professor Albert Seward Memorial Lectureship by

Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany The Birbal Sahni institution of Palaeosciences (BSIP), formerly known as the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, is an autonomous institution established by the Government of India under the Department of Science and Technology. The Birbal ...

– 1955 *Member of Indian Botanical Society (President) - 1923 *President, Botany Section of

Indian Science Congress Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Calcutta and it meets annually in the first week of January. It h ...

- 1924 *Indian Science Congress Medal of Asiatic Society - 1934 *Member of Indian Society of Soil Science (Honorary Secretary) - 1935-1940 *President of Botanical Society of Bengal - 1940-1945 *President of Indian Ecological Society - 1940-1945 *Secretary of

Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is an organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of " Oriental research" (in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions). It was founded by the philologist Will ...

- 1943-1945 *Vice President of Asiatic Society - 1945-1946 *President of Brihan Maharashtra Parishad- 1943

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agharkar, Shankar Purushottam 1884 births 19th-century Indian botanists 1960 deaths Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the University of Calcutta 20th-century Indian botanists People from Sindhudurg district Marathi people Scientists from Maharashtra Expatriates from British India in Germany

Early life

Education

Awards and honours

See also

References