{{Short description|Indian biochemist}} {{Infobox scientist | image = বীরেশচন্দ্র _গুহ.jpg | birth_date = {{birth date|1904|6|8|df=yes}} | birth_place = Mymensingh, Bengal Presidency, British India | death_date = {{Death date and age|1962|03|20|1904|06|08|df=yes}} | death_place = Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | fields = biochemistry | alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|St. Xavier's College, Kolkata|University of Calcutta}} | spouse = Phulrenu Guha }} '''Biresh Chandra Guha''' (8 June 1904 – 20 March 1962) was an Indian biochemist who is widely known as the father of modern biochemistry in India. He helped make biochemistry a separate subject in India and made important contributions to research on vitamins, food science, and nutrition.

== Early life and education == Guha was born on 8 June 1904 in Mymensingh, in present-day Bangladesh.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ltd |first=Durga Das Pvt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bLEZAAAAYAAJ |title=Eminent Indians who was Who, 1900-1980, Also Annual Diary of Events |date=1985 |publisher=Durga Das Pvt. Limited |language=en}}</ref> His ancestral home was in Banaripara, Barisal Division.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=India |first=National Institute of Sciences of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7gEAAAAIAAJ |title=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows |date=1966 |publisher=The Institute |language=en}}</ref> From a young age, he was influenced by the Swadeshi Movement during India’s fight for independence.<ref name=":1" /> His maternal uncle, Aswini Kumar Dutta, was an educationist and social reformer who had a strong impact on him.<ref name=":1" />

He attended Brajamohon School in Barisal until 1917, then moved to Calcutta in 1918 and enrolled at Srikrishna Pathsala, passing his Matriculation Examination in 1919.<ref name=":1" /> In 1921, he passed the Intermediate Science (I.Sc.) Examination, ranking second in order of merit.<ref name=":1" /> He then joined Presidency College for Chemistry Honours but was imprisoned and expelled for attending a banned political meeting during the Non-Cooperation Movement.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=McDaniel |first=Alonzo Simpson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mq1mAAAAMAAJ |title=The Absorption of Hydrocarbon Gases by Non-aqueous Liquids |date=1990 |publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison |language=en}}</ref>

Guha then joined St. Xavier’s College, where he completed his B.Sc. degree with honours in Chemistry in 1923, standing first class first.<ref name=":2" /> He continued at the University of Calcutta and stood first in his M.Sc. examination in 1925.<ref name=":2" /> After a brief period of post-M.Sc. research under Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray at the University College of Science, he received the Tata Endowment Fellowship in 1926 to pursue higher studies in the United Kingdom.<ref name=":2" />

== Career and research == In 1926, Guha went to England for higher studies. He spent five years doing research on B vitamins at University College London under Jack Drummond and at the University of Cambridge under Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, a Nobel Laureate.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Biresh Chandra Guha – Vivekananda Vijnan Mission |url=https://vvmwb.org/scientist/biresh-chandra-guha/ |access-date=2025-07-20 |website=vvmwb.org}}</ref> He earned both a Ph.D. and a D.Sc. from the University of London.<ref name=":3" />

Guha returned to India in 1932 and joined Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, where he worked on vitamin research.<ref name=":0" /> In 1936, he was appointed Head of the Biochemistry Department at the University of Calcutta.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Biresh Chandra Guha took India's biochemistry research to new heights – GetBengal story |url=https://www.getbengal.com/details/biresh-chandra-guha-took-indias-biochemistry-research-to-new-heights-getbengal-story |access-date=2025-07-20 |website=Get Bengal |language=en}}</ref> He helped introduce a post-graduate course in biochemistry at the university.<ref name=":4" />

Guha’s research mainly focused on the biosynthesis of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and the study of B vitamins. His work showed how biochemistry connects genetics and the evolution of life. He also researched waste utilisation and management to benefit India’s economy and studied the nutritional importance of proteins and vitamins at different life stages. His comparative studies of marine and freshwater fish added to the understanding of their nutritional value.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

=== Administrative roles === During the Bengal famine of 1943, Guha developed low-cost protein foods and digests to help address widespread hunger and malnutrition.<ref name=":0" />

In 1944, he was appointed Chief Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Food, Government of India.<ref name=":0" /> There, he organised a country-wide nutrition survey and set up a technical wing for food inspection, analysis, and standardisation.<ref name=":0" /> It was during this time that he proposed the idea for a national Food Technological Research Institute, which later took shape when the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research established the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysore.<ref name=":3" />

Guha also represented India as counsellor in agricultural sciences at UNESCO in Paris while working in the Food Department.<ref name=":3" /> In 1948, he joined the Damodar Valley Corporation as a member representing West Bengal.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=CUChEAA |url=https://cucheaa.com/template/history.php |access-date=2025-07-20 |website=cucheaa.com}}</ref> After nearly a decade in government and administrative roles, Guha returned fully to academic work in 1953 when he resumed his university professorship in Calcutta.<ref name=":5" />

== Recognition == Guha was elected a Fellow of the National Institute of Sciences of India in 1941.{{cn|date=July 2025}}

== Personal life == In 1944, at the age of 41, Guha married Phulrenu Guha, an Indian social activist, educationist, and politician who later served as a member of the Rajya Sabha and was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Guha died in Lucknow on 20 March 1962 while on a holiday trip.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Society |first=Indian Chemical |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=inmNhwX79zsC |title=Quarterly Journal |date=1963 |publisher=Calcutta University Press |language=en}}</ref>

== Legacy == After his death, Phulrenu Guha donated their house in Ballygunge, Kolkata, to the University of Calcutta for research in biochemistry.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last1=PHISPC |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0o7BAAAQBAJ |title=From Physiology and Chemistry to Biochemistry |last2=Chakravorty |first2=Burma and |date=1900 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-81-317-5373-6 |language=en}}</ref> The facility is now known as the Guha Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.<ref name=":6" /> In his memory, the Indian National Science Academy established the Biresh Chandra Guha Memorial Lecture.

== References== {{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Guha, Biresh Chandra}} Category:1904 births Category:1962 deaths Category:Indian biochemists Category:University of Calcutta alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Category:People from Banaripara Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Category:20th-century Indian scientists Category:People from Mymensingh District Category:City College, Kolkata alumni Category:St. Xavier's College, Kolkata alumni Category:Academics from Barisal Division Category:Scientists from Barisal Division Category:Brojo Mohon School alumni