Asima Chatterjee(1917 — 2006)
Asima Chatterjee
Inde, Raj britannique
6 min read
Asima Chatterjee (1917-2006) was a pioneering Indian chemist who specialized in the chemistry of natural products and medicinal plants. She was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Science degree from an Indian university.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born on September 23, 1917, in Calcutta (British India)
- First woman to earn a Doctor of Science degree from an Indian university (University of Calcutta, 1944)
- Major work on the alkaloids of periwinkles (vinca) and the chemistry of Indian medicinal plants
- Developed antiepileptic and antimalarial drugs from plant-based compounds
- First woman elected to preside over a session of the Indian Science Congress (1975)
- Died on November 22, 2006
Works & Achievements
The first Doctorate of Science awarded to a woman by an Indian university, a historic milestone for women in science.
Work isolating and elucidating the structures of molecules from medicinal plants, foundational to Indian natural products chemistry.
A treatment developed from a local fern (Marsilea minuta), an example of turning India's flora into medicine.
Development of molecules against malaria from Indian plants, targeting a major public health disease.
Creation of a teaching and research facility in chemistry that opened the discipline to many female students.
Coordination of reference volumes cataloguing India's medicinal plants and their active compounds.
A vast body of internationally recognized research that made her a leading figure in Indian organic chemistry.
Anecdotes
In 1944, Asima Chatterjee became the very first woman to earn a Doctor of Science degree awarded by an Indian university, the University of Calcutta. At a time when very few Indian girls pursued higher education, she opened a path that had remained closed until then.
A large part of her career was devoted to studying India's medicinal plants in order to extract useful molecules from them. From a small aquatic fern (*Marsilea minuta*), her team developed an antiepileptic drug, and other local plants served as the basis for treatments against malaria.
In 1975, she was elected General President of the Indian Science Congress Association, the huge annual gathering of Indian scientists: she was the first woman to hold this prestigious position. That same year, the government awarded her the **Padma Bhushan**, one of the country's highest civilian honors.
On **September 23, 2017**, for the hundredth anniversary of her birth, Google dedicated a Doodle to her on its homepage worldwide, depicting her surrounded by molecules and plants. It was international recognition for a scientist long little known outside India.
As a young researcher, she was mentored by **Prafulla Chandra Ray**, nicknamed the “father of Indian chemistry,” and moved in the circles of great scholars such as the physicist **Satyendra Nath Bose**. She also completed her training in the United States, at the University of Wisconsin and at Caltech, before returning to build up research in India.
Primary Sources
Opening address delivered as General President, in which she stresses the importance of scientific research rooted in the natural resources and needs of independent India.
Series of articles describing the isolation and structure of alkaloids extracted from plants such as Rauwolfia, Vinca, and Alstonia, based on her work in natural products chemistry.
Scholarly compilation cataloguing Indian medicinal plants, their properties, and their active compounds, the edition of which she directs for the CSIR.
Award conferred for her major contributions to the chemical sciences; she is the first woman to receive this Indian research prize.
Key Places
Asima Chatterjee's birthplace and the center of her entire scientific life. She was born here in 1917 and died here in 2006.
Where she pursued her studies, earned her doctorate, and spent most of her research and teaching career in chemistry.
The institution where she completed part of her university training in chemistry.
The college where she founded and headed the chemistry department, training many female students.
The site of a research stay in the United States that enriched her training in natural products chemistry.
The institute where she completed her research, notably on natural pigments, before returning to India.
