Sir Ahmad Fazlur Rahman (; 28 December 1889 – 24 March 1945), also known as A. F. Rahman, was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

academic. He served as the first Bengali

Vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

during 1934–1936. He was knighted by the

British Government of India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

in 1942.

Early life and education

Fazlur Rahman was born on 28 December 1889, to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

parents Abdur Rahman and Begum Rahimunnessa in

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. His father was a scholar originally from Feni in eastern Bengal. Rahman passed matriculation examination from Jalpaiguri Zila School in 1908. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in history in 1912 from the

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and

Calcutta University 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 ...

in 1913 respectively. He then spent two years researching political economy at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Career

In 1914, Rahman joined the Calcutta University Commission as a sub-editor. He started his academic career as a lecturer in history in Aligarh Anglo-Oriental College (later

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

) in 1914. After establishment of the University of Dhaka on 1 July 1921, he joined as reader in the Department of History at the

at the request of the first vice-chancellor,

Philip Joseph Hartog Sir Philip Joseph Hartog (2 March 1864 – 27 June 1947) was a British chemist and educationalist who undertook this role in England and India. Early life and education Hartog was born in London on 2 March 1864, the third son of Alfonse and ...

. Rahman was elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Council in 1923 from the Dhaka University constituency. He served as the chairman of the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board in 1934. In 1937, the University of Dhaka conferred on Rahman the Honorary Doctorate Degree.

Legacy

A residence hall at the University of Dhaka campus is named after him - "Sir A. F. Rahman Hall" - in 1976. Another residence hall at the University of Chittagong campus is named after him - "Sir A. F. Rahman Hall" - in 1970

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Ahmad Fazlur 1889 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Bengalis People from Feni District Bengali educators Vice-chancellors of the University of Dhaka University of Calcutta alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Academic staff of Aligarh Muslim University Indian Knights Bachelor People from Jalpaiguri district Bengali Muslims Educators from West Bengal Bengali knights