Mahalanobis

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was born on 29 June 1893 Bikrampur, which is now in Bangladesh. Mahalanobis received his early schooling at the Brahmo Boys School in Calcutta graduating in 1908. He then joined the Presidency College, Calcutta and received a B.Sc. degree with honours in physics in 1912. He left for England in 1913 to join Cambridge. He however missed a train and stayed with a friend at King's College, Cambridge. He was impressed by the Chapel there and his host's friend M. A. Candeth suggested that he could try joining there, which he did. He did well in his studies, but also took an interest in cross-country walking and punting on the river. He interacted with the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan during the latter's time at Cambridge. After his Tripos in physics, Mahalanobis worked with C. T. R. Wilson at the Cavendish Laboratory. He took a short break and went to India and here he was introduced to the Principal of Presidency College and was invited to take classes in physics.

He was not a student of statistics. His tutor W.H Macaulay gave him a volume titled Biometrical and Biometric tables while he was searching a book in the library at King's college, London. On reading it he was thrilled and developed interest in statistics. His uncle Sir Nilratan Sircar also encouraged him and he continued his study on statistics in his spare time. During 1992 there was a disastrous flood in North benga lwhich raised the river beds.The authorities consulted Mahalanobis and he tallied the figures of rainfalls and floods for the previous fifty years to emerge out a better drainage system. He also did a similar work in Orissa and both Hirakud and Damodar valley project are based on his statistical studies.

He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure. He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to the design of large scale sample surveys