CV Raman Family Tree: The Story Behind India's First Nobel Laureate in Science

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, born 7 November 1888 in Tiruchirapalli, Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu), India, won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the Raman Effect (scattering of light, 1928) — the first Asian and first non-white person to receive a Nobel Prize in any sciences. Bharat Ratna (1954). He died 21 November 1970 at age 82.

The Family's Roots: A Tamil Brahmin Iyer Family

The Raman family is Tamil Brahmin Iyer from Tiruchirapalli.

His Parents

Father: Chandrasekhara Iyer (Chandrasekhar Ramanathan Iyer) — lecturer in mathematics and physics at Mrs. A.V.N. College, Visakhapatnam.

Mother: Parvathi Ammal — homemaker.

His Siblings

Subrahmanyan Iyer — Raman's elder brother.

Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Iyer — Raman's elder brother; the father of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Nobel Physics 1983; Raman's nephew).

His Wife: Lokasundari Ammal

Lokasundari Ammal Raman — married CV Raman on 6 May 1907.

Their Sons

Chandrasekhar Venkataraman (1929–1965) — eldest son.

Venkat Radhakrishnan (1929–2011) — radio astronomer; Padma Bhushan (1994); director of Raman Research Institute (1972–94).

His Nobel-Laureate Nephew

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910–1995) — Raman's nephew (son of his brother Chandrasekhar S. Iyer); Nobel Prize in Physics 1983 for the Chandrasekhar Limit on stellar mass; University of Chicago professor.

The Raman Family Tree at a Glance

Family Origins: Tamil Brahmin Iyer; Tiruchirapalli.

Father: Chandrasekhara Iyer — physics-maths lecturer.

Mother: Parvathi Ammal.

Brothers: Subrahmanyan Iyer; Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Iyer (father of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar).

Wife: Lokasundari Ammal (m. 6 May 1907).

Sons: Chandrasekhar Venkataraman (1929–1965); Venkat Radhakrishnan (1929–2011) — Padma Bhushan radio astronomer.

Nephew: Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910–1995) — Nobel Physics 1983.

Sir C. V. Raman:

  • Born 7 November 1888, Tiruchirapalli
  • St. Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School; Presidency College, Madras — BA Physics 1904; MA Physics 1907 (at age 18)
  • Joined the Indian Finance Service (1907, age 19) — worked at Calcutta Customs; conducted physics research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in his spare time
  • Resigned from civil service to become Palit Professor of Physics at University of Calcutta (1917)
  • Discovered the Raman Effect: 28 February 1928 — the change in wavelength of light when scattered by molecules (basis of Raman spectroscopy)
  • National Science Day in India is celebrated on 28 February to commemorate this discovery
  • Nobel Prize in Physics: 1930 — for the work on light scattering
  • Knighted: 1929
  • Director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore: 1933–37
  • Founded the Indian Academy of Sciences (Bangalore, 1934)
  • Founded the Raman Research Institute (Bangalore, 1948)
  • Bharat Ratna: 1954
  • Lenin Peace Prize: 1957
  • Died 21 November 1970, Bangalore

What the Raman Family Story Teaches Us

A physics-maths lecturer father. A homemaker mother. Two elder brothers — including the father of a future Nobel laureate. A wife of 63+ years. Two sons. A nephew who won the Nobel Prize 53 years after his uncle.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the CV Raman story carries the same lesson. Some families produce two Nobel Prizes in Physics across two generations. The CV Raman 1930 + Chandrasekhar 1983 line is the only case in Indian history of an uncle-nephew Nobel pair in the same science.

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