Bose, Jagadis Chandra

Born Nov. 30, 1858, in Bengal; died Nov. 23, 1937, in Giridih, Bengal. Indian plant physiologist, physicist, and biophysicist.

After graduating from college in Calcutta (1880) and Cambridge University in England (1885), Bose became a professor at Presidency College in Calcutta. In 1917 he founded a scientific research institute in Calcutta and served as its director; it now bears his name as the Bose Research Institute. In 1894–95, simultaneously with P. N. Lebedev, Bose constructed an electromagnetic damping wave generator with a diapason in both millimeters and centimeters. In particular, Bose’s instrument had a “spiral coherer,” which was used as an electromagnetic wave indicator. Bose used the instrument for research on the properties of electromagnetic waves and their effect on plants. His experiments helped to confirm the electromagnetic theory of light. Bose also researched electric contact phenomena. He established the analogy between plant and animal reactions to an external stimulus and gave a new explanation for the spontaneous contraction of plant tissues, the rise of fluid in stems, and other phenomena. He also studied photosynthesis and the water regime of plants.