Jagadish Chandra Bose Family Tree: The Story Behind India's Plant-Science Pioneer

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, born 30 November 1858 in Mymensingh, Bengal Presidency (Munshiganj, now in Bangladesh), was a Bengali polymath and one of the founders of modern Indian science — pioneer of radio and microwave optics; demonstrated wireless signalling 2 years before Marconi; founder of plant electrophysiology. Knighted 1917; Fellow of the Royal Society 1920. Founded the Bose Institute (Calcutta) in 1917. He died 23 November 1937 at age 78.

The Family's Roots: A Bengali Kayastha Family

The Bose family is Bengali Kayastha from Munshiganj, now in Bangladesh.

His Parents

Father: Bhagaban Chandra Bose — Deputy Magistrate; member of the Brahmo Samaj; freedom-minded reformer.

Mother: Bama Sundari Bose — homemaker.

His Siblings

Multiple siblings, with Jagadish being one of the elder ones.

His Wife: Abala Bose

Lady Abala Bose (née Das; 1864–1951) — pioneering Indian feminist; women's education advocate; founded the Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya; first Indian woman to attempt to study medicine at the University of Madras (1881, before women were admitted to medical degrees). Daughter of Durga Mohan Das (Brahmo Samaj reformer). Married Jagadish in 1887.

Their Children

The couple had no biological children.

The Bose Family Tree at a Glance

Family Origins: Bengali Kayastha; Munshiganj (now in Bangladesh).

Father: Bhagaban Chandra Bose — Deputy Magistrate; Brahmo Samaj reformer.

Mother: Bama Sundari Bose.

Wife: Lady Abala Bose (1864–1951; m. 1887) — feminist; women's education pioneer.

Children: None.

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose:

  • Born 30 November 1858, Munshiganj
  • St. Xavier's College, Calcutta (BA 1879)
  • Christ's College, Cambridge (BA Natural Sciences 1884; tripos)
  • University of London (DSc 1896)
  • Presidency College, Calcutta professor of physics from 1885 — fought for and won equal pay for Indian professors (his salary was initially half that of British professors; eventually paid retrospectively)
  • November 1894 / 1895: demonstrated wireless signalling in Calcutta — 2 years before Marconi
  • 1899: invented the iron-mercury-iron coherer (a radio detector)
  • 1903 onwards: shifted to plant electrophysiology — discovered electrical signalling in plants; designed the crescograph (1920s) to measure plant growth
  • Response in the Living and Non-Living (1902); Plant Response as a Means of Physiological Investigation (1906); Researches on Irritability of Plants (1913)
  • Bose Institute, Calcutta: founded 23 November 1917
  • Knighted: 1917; Fellow of the Royal Society: 1920
  • Died 23 November 1937, Giridih, age 78

What the Bose Family Story Teaches Us

A Deputy Magistrate reformer father. A homemaker mother. A pioneering feminist wife — among the first Indian women to attempt medical education and a women's education founder. No children. A career that founded both Indian radio engineering and plant electrophysiology — and the Bose Institute.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the JC Bose story carries the same lesson. Some couples build institutions instead of having children. The Bose Institute (founded by JC) and the Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya (founded by Abala) are on the Bose family record alongside every published paper.

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