⚡ Quick Summary
Sir C. V. Raman died in Bangalore on November 21, 1970, at the age of 82. He won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him", becoming the first Indian Nobel laureate in the sciences. The Raman effect, discovered with K. S. Krishnan in Calcutta in 1928, is a small change in the colour of light scattered by molecules, and it is now the basis of a widely used chemical analysis method. Saturday, November 21, 2026 is his 56th death anniversary. Research cutoff: November 14, 2026.
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman is one of the best-known names in Indian science. Schoolchildren learn about him on National Science Day, February 28, the date of his famous discovery. His death anniversary on November 21 gets far less attention, yet it is a good moment to look at what he actually found and why it still matters in laboratories, hospitals and factories.
This explainer covers his life, the discovery, the Nobel Prize, the institutions he built and the debates around his legacy.
C. V. Raman at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman |
| Born | November 7, 1888, Tiruchirappalli |
| Died | November 21, 1970, Bangalore (now Bengaluru) |
| Best-known discovery | The Raman effect, February 28, 1928 |
| Nobel Prize | Physics, 1930, while at Calcutta University |
| Other honours | Knighthood (1929), Bharat Ratna (1954) |
| Institution he founded | Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru (1948) |
Early Life and a Day Job in Finance
Raman was born on November 7, 1888, in Tiruchirappalli in present-day Tamil Nadu. A gifted student, he entered Presidency College in Madras (now Chennai) at 13 and earned a master's degree in physics by 18. While still a student, he published a research paper in the British journal Philosophical Magazine.
Opportunities for a research career in India were limited at the time, so in 1907 he joined the government's finance service in Calcutta. He did not give up science. In his spare hours he carried out experiments at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), a privately founded research society in the city. His early work dealt with vibrations and sound, including the acoustics of Indian instruments such as the tabla, mridangam and veena.
In 1917, he left government service to become the Palit Professor of Physics at the University of Calcutta. He founded the Indian Journal of Physics in 1926.
The Question That Led to a Discovery
On a sea voyage to England in 1921, Raman began to wonder why the Mediterranean looked so deeply blue. The common explanation was that the sea simply reflected the sky. Raman suspected that water molecules themselves scatter light, and he began a long series of experiments on how light is scattered by liquids, gases and solids.
What Is the Raman Effect?
When a beam of light passes through a substance, a little of it is scattered sideways by the molecules. Almost all of that scattered light keeps exactly the same colour (wavelength) as the incoming beam. Raman and his colleague K. S. Krishnan showed that a very small fraction comes out with a slightly different colour.
The shift happens because some of the light's energy is exchanged with the molecule, which starts or stops vibrating or rotating. Each type of molecule vibrates in its own characteristic ways, so the pattern of colour shifts acts like a fingerprint for that substance.
The discovery is dated to February 28, 1928. Raman and Krishnan's letter describing "a new type of secondary radiation" was published in the journal Nature on March 31, 1928.
Why it matters today
The method built on this effect, known as Raman spectroscopy, can identify a material without destroying it. A commemorative plaque at IACS notes uses ranging from identifying minerals to the early detection of serious diseases. It is used to check pharmaceutical ingredients, study artworks and archaeological finds, examine semiconductors and analyse gemstones. The arrival of lasers later made Raman measurements far easier, and the technique is now part of everyday work in many laboratories.
In 1998, the American Chemical Society and IACS recognised the discovery as an International Historic Chemical Landmark.
The 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics
Raman was knighted in 1929, and in 1930 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Nobel Prize website gives the motivation as "for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him" and lists his affiliation as Calcutta University.
He was the first Indian Nobel laureate in the sciences. Rabindranath Tagore had won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
The Krishnan question
K. S. Krishnan was Raman's co-worker in the experiments and a co-author of the 1928 work, but the Nobel Prize went to Raman alone. Historians of science still discuss how credit was shared, and accounts note that relations between the two men became strained. Krishnan went on to a distinguished career of his own and later became the first director of the National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi.
Building Institutions in Bangalore
In 1933, Raman moved to Bangalore to head the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the first Indian to lead it. His tenure was marked by disagreements over how the institute should be run, and he later continued at IISc as a professor of physics. In 1934, he founded the Indian Academy of Sciences.
In 1948, after leaving IISc, he set up the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bangalore so that he could continue his research. According to the institute, it became an aided autonomous research institute funded by the Department of Science and Technology in 1972. Today its research areas are astronomy and astrophysics, light and matter physics, soft condensed matter, and theoretical physics.
Raman received the Bharat Ratna in 1954, alongside C. Rajagopalachari and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He also later received the Lenin Peace Prize.
His Final Weeks
Raman continued working into his eighties. At the end of October 1970, he collapsed in his laboratory with a heart problem. He died in Bangalore on the morning of November 21, 1970. He had asked for a simple farewell, and he spent his last days at his institute, which remains his most lasting physical legacy.
A Family of Scientists
Raman's nephew, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, the son of his elder brother, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his work on the structure and evolution of stars. The two are among the most celebrated names in Indian science, though Chandrasekhar built his career in the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did C. V. Raman die?
On November 21, 1970, in Bangalore, at the age of 82. November 21, 2026 is his 56th death anniversary.
What is the Raman effect in simple words?
When light is scattered by molecules, a tiny part of it changes colour slightly. The size of the change depends on how the molecules vibrate, so it reveals what the material is made of.
Why is National Science Day on February 28?
It marks the date in 1928 on which the discovery of the Raman effect is dated.
Did K. S. Krishnan share the Nobel Prize?
No. Krishnan was Raman's co-worker on the discovery, but the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Raman alone.
Conclusion
C. V. Raman showed that world-class physics could be done in India with modest equipment and sharp questions, and the effect he discovered is still used every day around the world. His death anniversary on November 21 is a good reason to revisit that story. For more science history from India, read our Homi J. Bhabha explainer, and see the November 21 daily guide for everything else on that date.
