It’s not like India does not have its share of legendary scientists; but, most of them never received any recognition for their contributions. For a few of them, even someone else took all the credit for their invention. Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose was an example of an unfortunate Indian inventor whose ground-breaking invention was hijacked by someone else. His generous mind cost India a Nobel Prize. Because he did not want to patent his groundbreaking discovery and keep it open for the scientific community for further advancement.
It was a day in 1895 when Kolkata Town Hall was full of spectators and in front of the crowd a Bengali scientist did magic. He rang a bell that was far away from him behind a brick wall and after that ignited gunpowder placed beside that bell. Later, he explained how he did this with the power of remote wireless signaling. His invention was so advanced that the entire world was dying to know the exact science behind that invention. Soon, he was demonstrating and lecturing worldwide with his invention.
The only problem was this genius scientist was against patenting his work. According to him, a patent destroys the process of further advancement of any technology. Therefore, his invention was open to humanity. However, the world is not so generous. In 1896, Guglielmo Marcony witnessed his invention in London and instantly patented it by his name. In 1909, Marcony received the Nobel Prize for someone else’s invention. That invention deserved a Nobel because it was the same technology that paved the way for modern-day TV, phone, radar, internet, satellite, etc.
His next invention was equally fascinating. This time he invented a highly sophisticated device that proved plant has life and plants also feel all kinds of external stimuli. This time his friends and well-wishers forced him to patent his invention and he agreed to patent his invention. His groundbreaking second invention was patented by his name and it was the first Indian patent. He named his device as Crescograph.
A mechanical device with clockwork gears and a smoked glass plate, the crescograph measures plant growth with incredible precision. Invented by Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose in the early 20th century, this ingenious instrument records the movement of a plant’s tip on a smoked glass plate marked with regular intervals. The crescograph can assess growth under various conditions, such as temperature, chemical exposure, electric currents, and gas effects. Bose used it to study plant activity under different light conditions, proving that plants respond to stimuli and possess life. This groundbreaking invention revolutionized plant biology and highlighted Bose’s pioneering contributions to science.
Do you like this amazing story of an inventor who was also an amazing human being? If you love fascinating stories of inventions and discoveries, visit our “Stories of Invention” section. Discover how messy, accidental, or even funny moments have shaped the world and human history!
