Short biography of William Butler Yeats

An Anglo-Irishman, William Butler Yeats was born in Sandymount, County Dublin, Ireland,on June 13,1865. His father, John Butler Yeats (1839–1922), was a descendant of Jervis Yeats, a Williamite soldier and linen merchant who died in 1712.

.He was also a barrister who eventually became a portrait painter. His mother, Susan Pollexfen, was the daughter of a prosperous merchant in Sligo, in western Ireland. Through both parents Yeats claimed kinship with various Anglo-Irish Protestant families who are mentioned in his work.

At the time of his marriage, John Yeats was studying law but abandoned his studies to study art at Heatherley's Art School in London. Yeats grew up as a member of the former Protestant Ascendancy at the time undergoing a crisis of identity. Yeats’s best hope, he felt, was to cultivate a tradition more profound than either the Catholic or the Protestant. In 1880 his family moved back to Dublin, where he attended the high school. In 1883 he attended the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, where the most important part of his education was in meeting other poets and artists.

Meanwhile, Yeats started to write: his first publication, two brief lyrics, appeared in the Dublin University Review in 1885. When the family moved back to London in 1887, Yeats took up the life of a professional writer. He joined theTheosophical Society, whose mysticism appealed to him because it was a form of imaginative life.

In 1997, his biographer R. F. Foster observed that Napoleon's dictum that to understand the man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty "is manifestly true of W.B.Y." Yeats had a life-long interest in mysticism, spiritualism, occultism and astrology. He read extensively on the subjects throughout his life, became a member of the paranormal research organization. . However, some critics have dismissed these influences as lacking in intellectual credibility.

In particular, W. H. Auden criticised this aspect of Yeats' work as the "deplorable spectacle of a grown man occupied with the mumbo-jumbo of magic and the nonsense of India."

Yeats was already a proud young man, and his pride required him to rely on his own taste and his sense of artistic style. He was not boastful, but spiritual arrogance. Yeats published several volumes of poetry during this period, notably Poems(1895) and The Wind Among the Reeds (1899), which are typical of his early verse in their dreamlike atmosphere and their use of Irish folklore and legend. But in the collections In the Seven Woods (1903) and The Green Helmet (1910), Yeats slowly discarded the Pre-Raphaelite colours and rhythms of his early verse and purged it of certain Celtic and esoteric influences.

In 1917 Yeats published The Wild Swans at Coole. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Now a celebrated figure, he was indisputably one of the most significant modern poets of the 20^th  Century literature. ). Yeats was a very good friend of Indian Bengali poet Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

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Short biography of Satyendranath Dutta

Satyendranath Dutta was born in the village of Nimta near Kolkata. He was the son of Rajaninath Dutta, who was a trader.  His grandfather, akshay kumar datta, was editor of the Tattwabodhini patrika.  He was also the guiding spirit of the Tattwabodhini Patrika. Satyendranath Dutta completed his schooling from Central Collegiate School in 1899 and joined the General Assembly's Institution in Kolkata, presently known as Scottish Church College, for graduation.

Satyendranath Dutta ,a Bengali poet, is considered the wizard of rhymes. Satyendranath Dutta was an expert in many disciplines of intellectual enquiry including medieval Indian history, culture, and mythology.

He was loved by Rabindranath. A condolence meeting of Satyendranath was held on 11th July in Rammohan Library.

Satyendranath Dutta began his literary career by composing poem for the Bengali magazine titled Bharati. His initial style of writing previously reflected the influences of renowned poets like Debendranath Sen, Akshay Kumar Boral and Michael Madhusudan Dutt. Satyendranath Dutta had written with a number of pseudonyms such as Kalamgir, Tribikram Varman, Ashitipar Sharma, Kaviratna and Nabakumar. Some people say that he is only comparable with Rabindranath in respect of Bengali leanguage and prosody.But Rabindranath said , ' Without any submission, I openly declare that he has unparalleled grasp in Bengali language and its rhymes which has no comparison."

Satyendranath Dutta died at the age of 40, on 25th June 1922. After his death the great poet has been immortalized in a poem authored by Rabindranath Tagore.

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Short biography of William Blake

William Blake was born in London, England, on November 28, 1757. His father was a successful London hosier and attracted by the Religious teachings of Emmanuel Swedenborg. He was the second son of a men’s clothing merchant.

At age ten Blake started at the well-known Park's drawing school, and at age fourteen he began a seven-year apprenticeship (studying and practicing under someone skilled) to an engraver. Blake was first educated at home, chiefly by his mother.  Blake remained very close to his mother and wrote much poetry about her. 

The Bible had an early, profound influence on Blake, and it would remain a lifetime source of inspiration, coloring his life and works with intense spirituality. In 1779, at age 21, Blake completed his seven-year apprenticeship and became a journeyman copy engraver, working on projects for book and print publishers. Also preparing himself for a career as a painter, that same year, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Art's Schools of Design, where he began exhibiting his own works in 1780.

When he was twenty-six, he wrote a collection entitled Poetical Sketches. In August 1782, Blake married Catherine Sophia Boucher, who was illiterate. Blake taught her how to read, write, draw and color (his designs and prints). He also helped her to experience visions, as he did. Catherine believed explicitly in her husband's visions and his genius, and supported him in everything he did, right up to his death 45 years later.

After his father died in 1784, Blake set up a print shop next door to the family shop. In 1787 his beloved brother Robert died; thereafter William claimed that Robert communicated with him in visions. In 1787 Blake produced Songs of Innocence (1789) as the first major work in his new process, followed by Songs of Experience (1794). Blake spent the years 1800 to 1803 in Sussex working with William Hayley, a minor poet and man of letters.

In 1804, Blake began to write and illustrate Jerusalem (1804-20), his most ambitious work to date. He also began showing more work at exhibitions (including Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims and Satan Calling Up His Legions), but these works were met with silence, and the one published review was absurdly negative; the reviewer called the exhibit a display of "nonsense, unintelligibleness and egregious vanity," and referred to Blake as "an unfortunate lunatic."

Blake died on August 12 1827, he was buried in an unmarked grave in a public cemetery and Bunhill Fields. After his death his influence steadily grew through the Pre-Raphaelites and later noted poets such as T. S. Eliot and W. B. Yeats.

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Short biography of Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay

Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was born in 1838 in Kanthalpara, district 24 Paraganas. His father, Jadavchandra, an orthodox Kulin Brahmin, was a deputy collector of revenues. He was the youngest of three brothers. His elder brother, Sanjibchandra, was also an author.

 Bankimchandra received much of his early traditional Hindu education from a family priest. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee had his early education in Midnapur. He was a brilliant student. After his early education in Midnapur Bankim Chandra Chatterjee joined the Mohsin College at Hoogly and studied there for six years .He was married at the age of 11 to a girl of 5 and in the same year, 1849, was enrolled in Hooghly College. Later  he graduated from the Presidency College, Calcutta. He was one of the first (two) graduates from this college. Later, he obtained a degree in Law, and was appointed Deputy Collector of Jessore. He retired as a Deputy Magistrate.

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay  also known as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was one of the greatest novelists and poets of India. He is famous as author of Vande Mataram, the national song of India. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee began his literary career as a writer of verse. Bankimchandra wrote his first novel, Rajmohan's Wife (1864), in English. Thereafter he wrote 14 novels in Bengali from 1865 to 1884. Among his novels areDurgeshnandini, Kapalkundala, Mrinalini, Vishabriksha, Devi Chaudhurani, Anandamath, Rajani, etc. Besdies novels, he wrote considerable volume of essays and satires, such as Kamalakanter Daptar. He edited one of the influential magazines of the time called Bangadarshan.

Bankim Chatterjee was superb story-teller, and a master of romance. His first three novels were pure romance decked out in historical costume. He passed away on April 8, 1894.

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Short biography of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay

Saratchandra Chattopadhyay was born on September 15, 1876 in the village of Devanandpur in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Born in an extremely deprived and poor family, he and his family members were financially supported by other members.

His father was Motilal Chattopadhyay and mother was Bhubanmohini. Saratchandra spent most of his childhood with his mother at her family's home in Bhagalpur, Bihar. He started his education at "Pyari Pandit"s" pathshala and then he took admission at Hooghly Branch High School. Although he began as a fine arts student, Chattopadhyay left his studies due to his persistent state of poverty.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay  is one of the most popular Bengali novelists and short story writers of early 20th century. He spent 20 years of his life in Bhagalpur and a significant portion of his novels were either written in Bhagalpur or based on his experience in Bhagalpur.

At the age of 27 he went to Burma and found a job as a clerk in a government office at Rangoon. He left Rangoon in 1916 and settled, first at Baje Shibpur, Howrah, near Kolkata. But before his departure from Burma  he submitted a short story for a prize competition under his uncle's name, Surendranath Ganguli. It won first prize in 1904.

He has been an extremely popular author ever since. Among his novels are Devdas (written in 1901 but published in 1917),Parineeta (1914), Biraj Bou (1914), Palli-Samaj (1916), Srikanta (in four parts; 1917, 1918, 1927, 1933), Charitraheen (1917), Grihadaha (1919),Pather-Dabi (1926), Shesh Prashno (1931), Bipradas (1935). Saratchandra's works have been repeatedly translated into many Indian languages. Many of these have also been successfully dramatized on stage and adapted to movies.

Apart from his literary and painting career, Sarat Chandra Chatterji took active participation in Indian freedom movement. As a result, he even became the president of Howrah District Congress. He stood for the equality of Hindu-Muslim rites and essayed the issues of love and marriage.

He died in Kolkata of liver cancer in 1938.

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Short biography of James Dewey Watson

James Dewey Watson was born on April 6^th, 1928 in Chicago. His father D. James Watson was a businessman and his mother was Jean Mitchell.His father was also a tax collector of Scottish ancestry. As a child, he was bright and inquisitive. One of his favorite words was "why?" and he wasn't satisfied with simple answers.

At the age of 15 Watson entered the University of Chicago. He did well in courses that interested him, like Zoology and Biology, and not as well in other courses. He decided that he would go to graduate school and study to become the curator of ornithology at the Museum of Natural History.In 1950 he received  his Ph.D degree in Zoology. After his Ph.D. in 1950, Watson spent time in Europe, first in Copenhagen and then at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge. By now, Watson knew that DNA was the key to understanding life and he was determined to solve its structure. James Watson gained worldwide fame and prominence as the joint author of the four scientific papers between 1953 and 1954.

During the 1960s, Watson became one of the most celebrated science writers, as he published his textbook “Molendor Biology of the Gene” in 1965, and his best-selling autobiographical book “The Double Helix” in 1968. Watson became the undisputed leading voice in the whole of American science. In 1962, Watson shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins who, with Rosalind Franklin, provided the data on which the structure was based.

 Watson has been described by many as brilliant, outspoken and eccentric. One of his major interests is education. Watson is unmarried. His recreations are bird-watching and walking. Watson is an avid tennis player and  he still tries to play tennis every day.

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Short biography of Dr Meghnad Saha

Meghnad Saha was born on October 6, 1893 in Sheoratali, Dacca District , now in Bangladesh.His father Jagannath Saha was a petty grocer who barely managed to keep his large family from starvation.His mother was Smt.Bhubneshwari Devi . . Meghnad Saha started his education in the primary school of the village. The nearest such school was in another village about 10 kilometers away. . As his family could hardly able to make both ends meet, Meghnad Saha managed to pursue his schooling only due to Dr Ananta Kumar Das, who provided him with boarding and lodging in his house.

In 1905, British Government took the decision of partition of Bengal.  There was great political unrest in Bengal as popular opinion was against the partition. Sir Bampfylde Fuller was governor of East Bengal at that time. One day he came to visit the Collegiate school. Meghnad Saha along with other students boycotted his visit. As a result he was suspended from the school and his scholarship was cancelled. In 1909,Meghnad Saha took admission in the Kishorilal Jubilee School and passed the Entrance examination of the Calcutta University.  In 1911, he ranked third in the ISc exam while the first position went to another great scientist Satyendranath Bose. After that he took admission in Presidency College ,Calcutta. In 1913, he graduated from Presidency College with Mathematics While studying in Presidency College, Meghnad got involved with Anushilan Samiti to take part in freedom fighting movement.

In 1917, He started his professional career and joined as lecturer at the newly opened University College of Science in Calcutta.Meghnad Saha   translated the papers published in German by Einstein and Minkowski on relativity into English versions. He spent time in research at Imperial College, London and at a research laboratory in Germany. In 1927, Meghnad Saha was elected as a fellow of London's Royal Society.

 Meghnad Saha was an Indian astrophysicist who nominated for the ‘Nobel prize’ in physics in 1935-36. In 1952, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the North-West Calcutta constituency. He died on February 16, 1956 due to a heart attack.

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