The Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman (1888-1970) was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the Raman effect, which has to do with changes in the wavelength of light scattered by molecules.

On Nov. 7, 1888, C. V. Raman was born at Trichinopoly, Madras, where his father taught physics in a church college. A few years later the family moved to Vizagapatam, when the father was appointed as lecturer in the local college. Raman received his early education there until he entered Presidency College in Madras in 1902. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1904, standing first in his class and winning the Gold Medal in physics. By the time he completed his master's degree in physics in 1907, he had already done original work in optics and acoustics, but since at that time there was little scope for scientific research...