Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
Date of Birth : Jun 29, 1893
Date of Death : Jun 28, 1972
Place of Birth : India
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (June 29, 1893-June 28, 1972) was an Indian scientist and applied statistician. He is best known for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure. He did pioneering work on anthropometric variation in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to large scale sample surveys. His father, Prabodh Chandra, was an active member of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. His mother, Nirodbasini, belonged to a family of considerable academic achievements. He graduated in Physics in 1912 from the Presidency College, Kolkata and completed Tripos at King`s College, Cambridge. He then returned to Calcutta. Inspired by the Biometrika and mentored by Acharya Brajendranath Seal he started his statistical work.
Initially he worked on analyzing university exam results, anthropometric measurements on Anglo-Indians of Calcutta and some metrological problems. He also worked as a meteorologist for some time. In 1924, when he was working on the probable error of results of agricultural experiments, he met Ronald Fisher, with whom he established a life-long friendship. He also worked on schemes to prevent floods. His most important contributions are related to large scale sample surveys.