(Father of Library Science)
Early Life of Rangananthan:
Dr. Ranganathan was born in a poor Brahmin family at Shiyali village in Tanjore district in Tamil Nadu on August 9, 1892. He was the eldest child of N. Ramamrita Ayyar, a petty landlord, and his wife Sitalakshmi. His father died in 1898 at the early age of thirty, due to illness. He suffered from more than the usual quota of childhood diseases and was handicapped by a severe stammer that he finally over came by forcing himself to give speeches in public.” He attended the local S. Mudaliar Hindu High School in Shiyali and passed his high school examination in 1908, obtaining a first division. Ranganathan passed his Intermediate and B.A. examinations in first class as well, thus proving that he was a bright student through out his school years. He received his B.A. degree in Mathematics and Physics in 1913 from the University of Madras. Ranganathan decided not to attend graduate school because his mother’s financial position was not very sound. Professor Edward B. Ross, one of his professors at Christian College, knew that Ranganathan was a hard working and brilliant student and he therefore decided to pay Ranganathan’s tuition for his graduate studies. Thus Ranganathan joined the Master’s program in June 1913 as the only graduate student of Professor Edward B. Ross; he graduated in 1916.” He was much interested in teaching and joined the Teachers College at Saidapat for his Professional Education Degree and received his degree in 1917. Read the rest of this entry »
