Radha Charan Gupta

Radha Charan Gupta was a mathematician known for his research and writing on the history of mathematics in ancient and medieval India. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of literature and education, from Uttar Pradesh ^[1].

A teacher of mathematics

Gupta was born in Jhansi in 1935 ^[2][3]. He took a BSc in 1955 and an MSc in mathematics in 1957 at Lucknow University, and earned his PhD from Ranchi University in 1971 ^[2]. After a year as a lecturer at Lucknow Christian College, he joined the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, in 1958 and served it in various roles ^[2].

Historian of Indian mathematics

In 1972 he was appointed to the International Commission on the History of Mathematics to represent India ^[2]. In 1979 he founded the journal Ganita Bharati and edited it for 27 years ^[2]. He wrote half a dozen books and about 500 articles on the history of mathematics, including two books published by NCERT on mathematics in ancient and medieval India ^[2]. For his 80th birthday in 2015, IIT Bombay’s centre for the history of science and technology released Ganitananda, a collection of his writings ^[2].

He was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in 1991 and a member of the International Academy of the History of Science in Paris, and he led the Association of Mathematics Teachers of India from 1994 to 2010 ^[2].

Honours

In 2009 the International Commission on the History of Mathematics awarded him the Kenneth O. May Prize for his work ^[2]. He also received the Kundakunda award in 1998 for his work on Jain mathematics ^[2].

Gupta died in Jhansi on 5 September 2024, after a long illness ^[3][4].