K. Ramunni Menon

Sir Konkoth Ramunni Menon[1] (14 September 1872 – c. February 1949)[2] was an Indian educator who was the vice chancellor of the University of Madras from 1928 to 1934.[3]

Biography

Menon received a B.A from the University of Madras[3] and proceeded to England for higher study to Christ's College, Cambridge.[4]

He obtained first class honours in both parts of the Natural Sciences Tripos and returned to India after obtaining his M.A.[3]

In 1910 he became professor of zoology at the Presidency College, Madras. The Department of Zoology of University of Madras was established in 1927 and Menon was made its honorary director[5] after he became the vice chancellor of the University of Madras in 1928.

He was knighted in the 1933 New Year Honours list and invested with his knighthood on 3 March 1933 by the Viceroy, the Earl of Willingdon, at New Delhi.[6][7] He served as the vice chancellor until 1934. During his time he first introduced music as a subject at Madras University.[4]

Legacy

Menon was invited to preside over the annual Music Academy's Sadas in 1944 and was also one of the founding fathers of the Tamil Isai Sangam.[4] He is also the maternal grandfather of musicologist Indira Menon.[4]

He first proposed in a letter to G. H. Hardy dated 28 July 1920 to pay Ramanujan's wife a monthly annuity of 20 rupees per month for handing over her husband's documents.[8]

A species of amphibian, Menon's caecilian (Uraeotyphlus menoni), is named for him.[9]

References
  1. Burke, Sir Bernard, ed. (1939). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (97th ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 2857.
  2. "Obituary". The Times. 5 February 1949. p. 6.
  3. Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar (1995). Ramanujan: Letters and Commentary. American Mathematical Soc. pp. 257–. ISBN 978-0-8218-9125-4. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  4. Viju, K. N. (19 August 2005). "Recording rarities". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2005.
  5. Uma Dasgupta (2011). Science and Modern India: An Institutional History, C. 1784-1947. Pearson Education India. pp. 685–. ISBN 978-81-317-2818-5. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  6. The London Gazette, 2 January 1933
  7. The London Gazette, 11 April 1933
  8. Bruce C. Berndt; Robert Alexander Rankin (2001). Ramanujan: Essays and Surveys. American Mathematical Soc. pp. 135–. ISBN 978-0-8218-2624-9. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  9. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.