Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis

Key facts

Born

29 June 1893, Kolkata

Died

28 June 1972, Kolkata

State of birth

Kolkata, West Bengal

Sector

Science & space

Profession

Indian scientist and statistician (1893–1972)

Gender

Male

Biography

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis OBE, FNA, FASc, FRS was an Indian scientist and statistician. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and for being one of the members of the first economic Planning Commission of independent India. He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to the design of large-scale sample surveys. For his contributions, Mahalanobis has been considered the father of statistics in India. Since 2007, 29 June is celebrated as National Statistics Day in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of P.C. Mahalanobis and his contributions to statistical science and planning.

Summary based on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed by the RochakDuniya editorial team.

Timeline

1. 1893Born in Kolkata
2. 1931Becomes director
3. 1942Awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire
4. 1944Awarded the Weldon Memorial Prize
5. 1945Awarded the Fellow of the Royal Society
6. 1951Awarded the Fellow of the Econometric Society
7. 1957Awarded the honorary doctor of the University of Calcutta
8. 1961Awarded the Fellow of the American Statistical Association
9. 1968Awarded the Padma Vibhushan
10. 1968Awarded the Srinivasa Ramanujan Medal
11. 1972Dies in Kolkata