Radhanath Sikdar Biography 
Radhanath Sikdar was a mathematical genius of 19th century. He hailed from the cultural capital of India – Bengal. It was Sikdar who calculated the height of Peak XV in the Himalaya and proved it as the tallest mountain above sea level. Peak XV was later named Mount Everest. A German learned society made him a Corresponding Member in 1864, a very rare honour in those days.
Radhanath was born as youngest child of Tituram in 1813 in Jorasanko, Kolkata. His schooling was done at "Phiringi" Kamal Bose's School and Hindu School, Kolkata. He was attracted towards science and took it as his subject later. He worked for the Surveyor General of India. When George Everest was in search of a talented young mathematician with particular proficiency in spherical trigonometry, Radhanath’s teacher Dr. John Tytler suggested him the name of his student. Radhanath was only 19 then. Thus he joined the Great Trigonometric Survey in 1831. He was appointed as a "computor" at a salary of thirty rupees per month. He was sent to Sironj near Dehra Dun where he excelled in geodetic surveying. Everest was so impressed by his performance that he didn’t allow him to leave. He was to leave GTS to join as Deputy Collector. He worked under him till Everest’s retirement.
After 20 years in the North, Sikdar was transferred to Kolkata in 1851 as the Chief Computor. He also served as the Superintendent of the Meteorological department where he introduced a few innovations that were used for many decades later. The formula for conversion of barometric readings taken at different temperatures to 32 degrees Fahrenheit belongs to one such idea given by Radhanath. In 1854, he along with his Peary Chand Mitra started the Bengali women journal Masik Patrika.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 10, 2014
