Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri ( bn, হেম চন্দ্র রায়চৌধুরী) (8 April 1892 – 4 May 1957Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 7th edition, pp. iv-vi) was an Indian historian, known for his studies on ancient India.

Early life and education

He came from a

Baidya Baidya or Vaidya is a Hindu community located in Bengal. Baidyas, a caste ('' jāti'') of Ayurvedic physicians, have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, b ...

family. He was the son of Manoranjan Raychaudhuri, the ''Zamindar'' of Ponabalia in the present-day

Jhalokati District Jhalokati, also spelled Jhalokathi, ( bn, ঝালকাঠি) is a district in southern Bangladesh. It is located in the Barisal Division and covers an area of 758.06 km2 It is bounded by Barisal district to the north and east, Barguna dis ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, and his wife Tarangini Devi. He completed his schooling at Brajamohan Institution in

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...

. He passed the University of Calcutta's entrance examination in 1907, standing first. He then joined

Scottish Church College, Calcutta Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in A ...

and after that

Presidency College, Calcutta Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...

, standing First in the First Class in his B.A. (Hons.) examination in 1911. For his outstanding achievements in this examination he was awarded the Eshan Scholarship. He again stood First in the First Class in his M.A. examination in 1913 and was awarded the Griffith Prize in 1919. His nephews were Tapan Kumar Raychaudhuri and

Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri (14 September 1923 – 18 June 2005) was an Indian physicist, known for his research in general relativity and cosmology. His most significant contribution is the eponymous Raychaudhuri equation, which demonstrates that ...

Career

He taught as a lecturer in Bangabasi College, Calcutta (1913–14). Soon after he joined the Bengal Education Service and was posted at

from (1914–16). In 1916 he was transferred to

Chittagong College Chittagong College is a government college in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is the second college established in Bangladesh after Dhaka College. It offers higher secondary education (HSC), bachelor's degree and master's degree. History Having begun ...

. Around this time

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Ashutosh Mookerjee offered him a Lecturership at the Department of Ancient History and Culture,

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...

in 1917. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Ancient Indian history from Calcutta University in 1921. In 1928 he acted as Reader in the Department of History of the

University of Dacca The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently it ...

. In 1936 he succeeded

D. R. Bhandarkar Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar ( mr, देवदत्त रामकृष्ण भांडारकर; 19 November 1875 – 13 May 1950) was an Indian archaeologist and epigraphist who worked with the Archaeological Survey of India (AS ...

as the

Carmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture The Carmichael Chair of Ancient Indian History and Culture is a history professorship in the University of Calcutta, India; its holder is known as Carmichael Professor. The post was created by Ashutosh Mukherjee in 1912 after Baron Carmichael the ...

at Calcutta University from where he retired in 1952.M.M. Rahman, ''Encyclopedia of Historiography'', (2006), p. 357
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Works

* ''Materials for the Study of the Early History of the Vaishnava Sect'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta (1920) * ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta (1923) * ''Studies in Indian Antiquities'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta (1932) * ''Vikramaditya in History and Legend'', Vikrama-volume, Scindia Oriental Institute (1948) * '' An Advanced History of India'' (Madras, 1946; last reprint in 1981) (authored with R.C. Majumdar and Kalikinkar Datta)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raychaudhuri, Hem Chandra Scholars from Kolkata Scottish Church College alumni Presidency University, Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni People from Barisal District Bengali historians Bengali people Bengali zamindars Presidency University, Kolkata faculty University of Calcutta faculty Historians of South Asia 20th-century Indian historians 1957 deaths 1892 births People from Jhalokati district

Early life and education

Career

Works

References

Further reading

External links