The Most Famous

PHYSICIANS from India

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This page contains a list of the greatest Indian Physicians. The pantheon dataset contains 726 Physicians, 11 of which were born in India. This makes India the birth place of the 13th most number of Physicians behind Spain, and Russia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Indian Physicians of all time. This list of famous Indian Physicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Indian Physicians.

Photo of Ronald Ross

1. Ronald Ross (1857 - 1932)

With an HPI of 63.91, Ronald Ross is the most famous Indian Physician.  His biography has been translated into 85 different languages on wikipedia.

Sir Ronald Ross (13 May 1857 – 16 September 1932) was a British medical doctor who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on the transmission of malaria, becoming the first British Nobel laureate, and the first born outside Europe. His discovery of the malarial parasite in the gastrointestinal tract of a mosquito in 1897 proved that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes, and laid the foundation for the method of combating the disease. Ross was a polymath, writing a number of poems, publishing several novels, and composing songs. He was also an amateur artist and mathematician. He worked in the Indian Medical Service for 25 years. It was during his service that he made the groundbreaking medical discovery. After resigning from his service in India, he joined the faculty of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and continued as Professor and Chairman of Tropical Medicine of the institute for 10 years. In 1926, he became Director-in-Chief of the Ross Institute and Hospital for Tropical Diseases, which was established in honour of his works. He remained there until his death.

Photo of Sushruta

2. Sushruta (-620 - -600)

With an HPI of 62.57, Sushruta is the 2nd most famous Indian Physician.  His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Sushruta (Sanskrit: सुश्रुत, lit. 'well heard', IAST: Suśruta) is the listed author of the Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta's Compendium), a treatise considered to be one of the most important surviving ancient treatises on medicine and is considered a foundational text of Ayurveda. The treatise addresses all aspects of general medicine, while the inclusion of impressive chapters on surgery showcases its importance, it may lead some to believe that it is the primary focus. The translator G. D. Singhal called Suśruta "the father of plastic surgery" on account of these detailed accounts of surgery. It is generally accepted by scholars that there were several ancient authors collectively called "Suśruta" who contributed to this text. The Compendium of Suśruta locates its author in Varanasi, India.

Photo of Kadambini Ganguly

3. Kadambini Ganguly (1861 - 1923)

With an HPI of 56.64, Kadambini Ganguly is the 3rd most famous Indian Physician.  Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Dr. Kadambini Bose Ganguly (18 July 1861 – 3 October 1923) was the first female medical doctor from British India. She and Anandibai Joshi both got their degree in Western medicine in 1886. However, She was India's first practicing lady doctor as Anandibai died soon after. She was the first Indian woman to have practiced with a modern medicine degree. Ganguly was the first woman to gain admission to Calcutta Medical College in 1884, subsequently trained in Scotland, and established a successful medical practice in India. She was the first woman speaker in the Indian National Congress.

Photo of Bidhan Chandra Roy

4. Bidhan Chandra Roy (1882 - 1962)

With an HPI of 48.92, Bidhan Chandra Roy is the 4th most famous Indian Physician.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian physician and politician who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1950 until his death in 1962. He played a key role in the founding of several institutions and cities like Salt Lake (now a part of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation), Kalyani, and Durgapur. In India, the National Doctors' Day is celebrated in his memory every year on 1 July. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour in 1961.

Photo of Dean Mahomed

5. Dean Mahomed (1759 - 1851)

With an HPI of 44.97, Dean Mahomed is the 5th most famous Indian Physician.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Dean Mahomed (1759–1851) was a British Indian traveller, soldier, surgeon, entrepreneur, and one of the most notable early non-European immigrants to the Western World. Due to non-standard transliteration, his name is spelled in various ways. His high social status meant that he later adopted the honorific "Sake" meaning "venerable one". Mahomed introduced Indian cuisine and shampoo baths to Europe, where he offered therapeutic massage. He was also the first Indian to publish a book in English.

Photo of Narendra Dabholkar

6. Narendra Dabholkar (1945 - 2013)

With an HPI of 44.23, Narendra Dabholkar is the 6th most famous Indian Physician.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Narendra Achyut Dabholkar (1 November 1945 – 20 August 2013) was an Indian physician, social activist, rationalist and author from Maharashtra, India. In 1989 he founded and became president of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS, Committee for Eradication of Superstition in Maharashtra). Triggered by his assassination in 2013, the pending Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Ordinance was promulgated in the state of Maharashtra, four days later. In 2014, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri for social work.

Photo of Indira Nath

7. Indira Nath (1938 - 2021)

With an HPI of 43.03, Indira Nath is the 7th most famous Indian Physician.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Indira Nath (14 January 1938 – 24 October 2021) was an Indian immunologist. Her major contribution in medical science deals with mechanisms underlying immune unresponsiveness in man, reactions and nerve damage in leprosy and a search for markers for viability of the Leprosy bacillus. Prof. Nath's fields of specialisations are Immunology, Pathology, Medical biotechnology, and communicable diseases.

Photo of Devi Shetty

8. Devi Shetty (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 40.13, Devi Shetty is the 8th most famous Indian Physician.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Devi Prasad Shetty (born 8 May 1953) is an Indian cardiac surgeon who is the chairman and founder of Narayana Health, a chain of 24 medical centers in India. He has performed more than 100,000 heart operations. In 2004 he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2012, the third highest civilian award by the Government of India for his contribution to the field of affordable healthcare.

Photo of Kamal Ranadive

9. Kamal Ranadive (1917 - 2001)

With an HPI of 40.10, Kamal Ranadive is the 9th most famous Indian Physician.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Kamal Jayasing Ranadive (née Samarath; 8 November 1917 – 11 April 2001) was an Indian biomedical researcher known for her research on the links between cancers and viruses. She was a founding member of the Indian Women Scientists' Association (IWSA). In the 1960s, she established India's first tissue culture research laboratory at the Indian Cancer Research Centre in Mumbai.

Photo of Soumya Swaminathan

10. Soumya Swaminathan (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 35.14, Soumya Swaminathan is the 10th most famous Indian Physician.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Soumya Swaminathan (born 2 May 1959) is an Indian paediatrician and clinical scientist known for her research on tuberculosis and HIV. From 2019 to 2022, she served as the chief scientist at the World Health Organization under the leadership of Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Previously, from October 2017 to March 2019, she was the Deputy Director General of Programmes (DDP) at the World Health Organization.

People

Pantheon has 12 people classified as Indian physicians born between 620 BC and 1970. Of these 12, 3 (25.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Indian physicians include Devi Shetty, Soumya Swaminathan, and Siddhartha Mukherjee. The most famous deceased Indian physicians include Ronald Ross, Sushruta, and Kadambini Ganguly. As of April 2024, 1 new Indian physicians have been added to Pantheon including Suniti Solomon.

Living Indian Physicians

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Deceased Indian Physicians

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Newly Added Indian Physicians (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Physicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Physicians since 1700.