Prof. Sachindra Nath Banerjee was born on 8th July, 1905, in the vilaage Bele-Sikra, District Hooghly, West Bengal. He had his early education in the Hindu School, Calcutta and from there he passed the Matriculation Examination in 1923. Then he joined the Presidency College and graduated in 1927 with Geology Honours from University of Calcutta. He obtained M.Sc. degree in Botany in 1929 from Calcutta University and stood first in order of merit. After passing M.Sc., he joined the Department of Botany, University of Calcutta as Sir Rash Behari Ghosh Research Scholar under Prof. S.P.Agharkar and later he joined the Mycological Laboratory of the Charmichael College (now Radha Gobinda Kar Medical College, Calcutta) as Major Kirtkar Research Fellow under Prof. S.R.Bose. During this research period he had specialized himself in taxonomic studies of higher fungi.

He served City College, Calcutta as Lecturer in Botany in 1934-35 and then joined Ripon College (now Surendranath College) Calcutta and served there from 1935-1939. He joined Department of Botany, University of Calcutta in 1939 as Assistant Lecturer, subsequently he obtained his Ph.D. degree in Plant Pathology in 1951 under the supervision of Dr. Malcolm Wilson from the Edinbourgh University and was selected a fellow of the Edinburg University and a Fellow of Linnaean Society of London in the same year. He became Head of the Department of Botany in 1967 and retired from University service on 20th February 1970. After his retirement he worked for three years as UGC retired teacher. He also served as Honorary Research Professor of Mycology in the R.G.Kar Medical College and Honorary Lecturer in Agricultural Botany in the Department of Agriculture, University of Calcutta since its inception.

Throughout his career he along with his devoted band of students made thorough and critical researches on higher fungi of Bengal. Initially he was recognized as one of the leading Indian Mycologists after his publication of the monograph on “Thelephoraceae of Bengal’. Besides, he developed an active scholl of researchers on plant pathology at the University of Calcutta. His contributions to science deal with the taxonomic and physiological studies of higher Basidiomycetes, but his main researchers dealt with pathological studies on the diseases of important Indian trees and decays of felled timbers. His noteworthy contributions to plant pathology were on the diseases of several foreign (Elder and Norway spruce) and Indian (Oak, Teak and Sal) economic trees and decays of timber (sal). He published 96 scientific papers in International and National reputed journals and on the basis of his extensive research works, he was readily recognized as one of the leading plant pathologists in India.

He was one of the founder member of the Botanical Society of Bengal and was elected its Honorary Secretary in 1939-1941. In 1954 he founded the Mycological Society, first of its kind in India and became its Editor, Vice President and President during 1971-1977. The first volume of the Society’s journal “Indian Journal of Mycological Research” was published during 1955 and continued editing this journal upto 1977 under his stewardship and earned International reputation.

He earned an enviable reputation as teacher and administrator. He was well known for his strict disciplinarian, meticulous in dress, polished behavior, ever smiling face and suavity of manners. He continued his dedicated service for up liftment of the society for 23 long years and breath his last on 8th June ,1977.

Prof. S.N.Banerjee Memorial Award Lecture organized by IMS, Kolkata

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