Girija Prasanna Majumdar obtained his PhD (1940) from University of Leeds, UK specializing in botany, plant anatomy and history of botany. He served as Professor of Botany, Presidency College, Calcutta; Government College, Darjeeling and Professor of Botany and Head, Department of Biology, Dacca University.

Academic and Research Achievements: Majumdar did research on the apical organization of plant organs, X-ray diffraction pattern of collenchyma cells and other aspects of plant anatomy. Also made extensive researches on the history of botany. He was held in high esteem for his extensive research on the genesis and development of botany and agriculture in ancient India. After collecting data from many Sanskrit texts, he compiled an authoritative account of botanical sciences in ancient India.

Other Contributions: Majumdar’s interests lay in popularizing science in Bengali. He authored many books, among them: Vanaspati, Botany in Ancient India and Some Aspects of Indian Civilization in Plant Perspective. He edited and translated the Upavana Vinoda, an ancient text on arbori-horticulture in India and also edited the Krishi Parasara, a Sanskrit text on agriculture, which was published by the Asiatic Society. He was Editor of INSA publications and Editor-in-Chief, Indian Botanical Society (1942-43).

Awards and Honours: Majumdar received Griffiths Prize (1925). He was the Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore and Indian Botanical Society (President, 1949), Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Botanical Society of Bengal (President, 1947-48), Asiatic Society and Vice-President, INSA. He served as President, Botany Section, Indian Science Congress Association (1955).