Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Philosopher, academic, writer, translator, entrepreneur, social reformer and philanthropist

Date of Birth: 26-Sep-1820

Place of Birth: Birsingha, West Bengal, India

Date of Death: 29-Jul-1891

Profession: writer, professor, head teacher

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE (26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay (Ishshor Chôndro Bôndopaddhae), was a Bengali polymath from the Indian subcontinent, and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance.
He was a philosopher, academic educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer and philanthropist.
His efforts to simplify and modernize Bengali prose were significant.
He also rationalized and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first (wooden) Bengali type in 1780. He was the most prominent campaigner for Hindu widow remarriage and petitioned Legislative council despite severe opposition and a counter petition against the proposal with nearly four times more signatures by Radhakanta Deb and the Dharma Sabha.
But Lord Dalhousie personally finalised the bill despite the opposition and it being considered a flagrant breach of Hindu customs as prevalent then and the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 was passed.He received the title "Vidyasagar" (in Sanskrit Vidya means knowledge and Sagar means ocean, i.e., Ocean of Knowledge) from Sanskrit College, Calcutta (from where he graduated), due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy.
Noted Cambridge mathematician Anil Kumar Gain founded Vidyasagar University, named in his honour.In 2004, Vidyasagar was ranked number 9 in BBC's poll of the Greatest Bengali of all time.