List of Bengali Nobel laureates

Since the inauguration of Nobel Prize in 1901, until 2024, three Bengali persons and one Bengali origin person—four in all, have won this award. The first Bengali as well as the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913, was Rabindranath Tagore (born in British India, now India), in literature.^[1] Later in 1998, Amartya Sen (born in British India, now India) in Economics, in 2006 Muhammad Yunus (born in British India, now Bangladesh) in Peace,^[2] and in 2019 Abhijit Banerjee (born in India), won this award in Economics.^[3]

List

Portrait	Name	Born & Died	Country	Field	Year	Rational
	Rabindranath Tagore	Born: 7 May 1861 Kolkata, Bengal, British India Died: 7 August 1941 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	British India	Literature	1913	For his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West[4]
	Amartya Sen	Born: 3 November 1933 Shantiniketan, Bengal, British India	India	Economics	1998	For his contributions to welfare economics[5] Human development theory, Capability approach
	Muhammad Yunus	Born: 28 June 1940 Hathazari, Chittagong, Bengal, British India	Bangladesh	Peace	2006	For his contribution of the concept of the microcredit concept. and creating economic and social development from below.[6]Shared the Prize with Grameen Bank.[7]
	Abhijit Banerjee	Born: 21 February 1961 Krishnanagar, West Bengal, India	USA	Economics	2019	For their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty[8] Use of RCTs in development economics

Nominees

The following list consists of individuals who were nominated for the Nobel Prize but never won it.

Portrait	Nominee	Born	Died	Year(s)	Field	Country	Note
	Rabindranath Tagore	7 May 1861 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	7 August 1941 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	1913	Literature	British India	For his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West.[4] Nominated by: Thomas Sturge Moore (1870–1944)[9] Won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature.
	Rabindranath Datta	1 October 1883 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	6 July 1917 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	1916	Literature	British India	Nominated by: Mano M Gangedy Raya Yatindra N Chondhury[10]
	Upendranath Brahmachari	19 December 1873 Sardanga, Purbasthali, Bengal, British India	6 February 1946 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	1929, 1942	Physiology or Medicine	British India	Discovered Urea Stibamine (antimonial compound for treatment of kala-azar) and a new disease, Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis.[11] Nominated by: Sudhamoy Ghosh (1890–1970) U P Basu M N Bose Subodh Chandra Mahalanobis (1867–1953) C C Bose[11]
	Meghnad Saha	6 October 1893 Seoratali, Dhaka, Bengal, British India (now in Gazipur, Bangladesh)	16 February 1956 New Delhi	1930, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1951, 1955	Physics	British India  India	For developing the Saha ionization equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars.[12] Nominated by: Debendra Mohan Bose (1885–1975) Sisir Kumar Mitra (1890–1963) Arthur Compton (1892–1962)[12]
	Harimohan Banerjee	—	3 September 1960 Kolkata, West Bengal, India	1934, 1936, 1938	Peace Literature	British India	For his book "Secrets of Religion and Way to Peace".[13] Nominated by: Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar (1875–1950) S K Gupta[13] He also wrote a pamphlet called "View of Peace".[13]
	Bijay Chandra Majumdar	27 October 1861 Khanakul, Faridpur, British India (present-day Bangladesh)	30 December 1942 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	1937, 1939	Literature	British India	Nominated by: Sen Satyendranath (1909–?) Mukundadeb Chatterjee[14]
	Sanjib Kumar Chaudhuri	5 September 1902 British India	—	1938, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971	Peace Literature	British India  India	For his work for World Order, World Peace and World Federalism Movement and for his book "A Constitution for World Government" and for his authorship of treaties important to the world order and his services to humanity.[15] Nominated by: Mahmoud Hasan (1897–?) K Danungo R. C. Majumdar (1888–1980) Lord John Boyd Orr (1880 – 1971) Lalita Rajya Laxmi Bateshwar Singh Primatha Chaudhuri D. P. Roy Choudhury[15] He was the Vice-President of the Asian Congress for World Federation held at Hiroshima in 1952, and Chairman of a Commission in the special Session of the People's World Convention held in Paris in 1951.
	Sri Aurobindo Ghose	15 August 1872 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	5 December 1950 Pondicherry, French India (present-day Pondicherry, Puducherry Union Territory, India)	1943, 1950	Peace Literature	British India  India	Nominated by Francis Younghusband (1863–1942) Saileswar Sen[16]
	Satyendra Nath Bose	1 January 1894 Kolkata, Bengal, British India	4 February 1974 Kolkata, West Bengal, India	1956, 1959, 1962, 1968, 1969, 1970	Physics	India	For developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate in Quantum Mechanics.[17] Nominated by: Kedareswar Banerjee (1900–1975) Daulat Singh Kothari (1906–1993) Shibapratim Bagchi (?) Anindya Dutta (?) M. G. K. Menon (1928–2016)[17]
	Sudhindra Nath Ghose	30 July 1899 Bardhaman, Bengal, British India	30 December 1965 London, England[18]	1965	Literature	United Kingdom	Nominated by: Henri de Ziégler (1885–1970)[19]
	Das Moni Roy	12 February 1895 Memari, Bengal, British India	—	1967	Peace	India	Nominated by: Subimal Kunnar Mukherjee[20]
	Binay Ranjan Sen	1 January 1898 Dibrugarh, Assam, India	12 June 1993 Kolkata, West Bengal, India	1967, 1968	Peace	India	For his exceptional contribution to the peace of the world through his work at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).[21] Nominated by: Rakel Seweriin (1906–1995)[21] Maurice Sauvé (1923–1992)[22]
	Jogesh Chandra Bhattacharya	c. 1895 British India	2 April 1960 India	1969	Peace	India	For his dedication to the propagation of spiritualism through which alone, he believes, peace will dawn on Earth. His book "Prayers for a New Advent" is groundbreaking in the field of propagation of the ideals of peace.[23] Nominated posthumously by: Jugal Kishore Mundal[23]
	Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay	27 July 1898 Labhpur, Birbhum, Bengal, British India	14 September 1971 Kolkata, West Bengal, India	1971, 1972, 1973	Literature	India	Nominated by: Krishna Kripalani (1907–1992) The Swedish Academy’s Nobel Committee[24]
	Suniti Kumar Chatterji	26 November 1890 Shibpur, Howrah, Bengal, British India	29 May 1977 Kolkata, West Bengal, India	1972, 1973	Literature	India	Nominated by: Pratul Chandra Gupta (1910–1990) The Swedish Academy’s Nobel Committee[25]
	Sri Chinmoy	27 August 1931 Boalkhali, Chittagong, Bengal, British India (present-day Bangladesh)	11 October 2007 New York City, United States	1972, 1973, 1974	Peace Literature	India	Nominated by: Bernard O´Kelly (1926–2005) Norman Holmes Pearson (1909–1975) Joseph Axelrod (1915–2010) Karl Kroeber (1926–2009) Peter A Pitzele (1941–)[26] Francis C. Cady[27]
	Mujibur Rahman	17 March 1920 Tungipara, Bengal, British India (present-day Bangladesh)	15 August 1975 Dhaka, Bangladesh	1975	Peace	Bangladesh	Nominated by: Abdul Malek Ukil (1924–1987) Assassinated before the only chance to be rewarded.[28]
	Mahasweta Devi	14 January 1926 Dhaka, Bengal, British India (present-day Bangladesh)	28 July 2016 Kolkata, West Bengal, India	2012	Literature	India	[29]
	Taslima Nasrin	25 August 1962 Mymensingh, East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh)	(aged 62)	2005	Peace	Bangladesh	[30][31]
	Muhammad Yunus	28 June 1940 Hathazari, Chittagong, Bengal, British India	(aged 84)	2006	Peace	Bangladesh	For his contribution of the concept of the microcredit concept. and creating economic and social development from below.[6] Shared the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Grameen Bank.[7]
	Dr Ruhul Abid	1961 Dhaka, Bangladesh	(aged 63–64)	2020	Peace	United States  Bangladesh	For his humanitarian healthcare initiatives through HAEFA, providing critical medical services to underprivileged communities, Rohingya refugees, and garment workers in Bangladesh, alongside pioneering digital health innovations like the Nirog system and COVID-19 response efforts.[32][33] Jointly Nominated with HAEFA by: University of Massachusetts Boston[32]
	Ryan Saadi	6 December 1964 Ishwardi Upazila, Pabna, Bangladesh	(aged 60)	2023	Peace	United States  Bangladesh	For his leadership in advancing accessible medical innovation and biotech solutions impacting global health equity through his role as CEO founder of Tevogen Bio.[34][35] Nominated by: Dr. Curtis Patton (1940–)[36]

References

1. "Rabindranath Tagore: First Indian to be Honoured with Nobel Prize". News18. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
2. "Bangladesh's 'banker to the poor' wins peace Nobel". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
3. "3 Bengalis won the Nobel. Abhijit Banerjee first to wear dhoti". India Today. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
4. "Nobel Prize in Literature 1913". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
5. "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1998". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
6. "The Nobel Peace Prize 2006". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
7. "Yunus wins peace Nobel for anti-poverty efforts". NBC News. 13 October 2006.
8. "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
9. Mehlin, Hans (2024-05-21). "Nomination%20Archive". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
10. Mehlin, Hans (2024-05-21). "Nomination%20Archive". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
11. Mehlin, Hans (2024-05-21). "Nomination%20Physiology%20or%20Medicine%201942%2035-0". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
12. Mehlin, Hans (2024-05-21). "Nomination%20Archive". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
13. Mehlin, Hans (2024-05-21). "Nomination%20Archive". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
14. "Nomination Archive - Bensadhar Majumdar". NobelPrize.org. April 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
15. "Nomination Archive – Sanjib Chaudhuri". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
16. Mehlin, Hans (2024-05-21). "Nomination%20Archive". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
17. Mehlin, Hans (2024-05-21). "Nomination%20Archive". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
18. "Open University - Sudhindra Nath Ghose". open.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
19. "Nomination Archive - Sudhin Ghose". NobelPrize.org. April 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
20. "Nomination Archive – Dasmoni Roy". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
21. "Nomination Archive – Binaj Ranyan Sen". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
22. "Nomination Archive – Binay Ranjan Sen". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
23. "Nomination Archive – Jogesh Chandra Bhattacharya". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
24. Mehlin, Hans (2024-05-21). "Nomination%20Archive". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
25. "Nomination Archive - Suniti Kumar Chatterji". NobelPrize.org. March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
26. "Nomination Archive - Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose". NobelPrize.org. March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
27. "Nominasjoner til Nobels fredspris – Nominasjoner 1973". media.digitalarkivet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 October 2022.
28. "Nominasjoner til Nobels fredspris – Nominasjoner 1975". media.digitalarkivet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 October 2022.
29. "After Tagore, author Mahasweta Devi was nominated for 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature". Get Bengal. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
30. "Taslima Nasreen nominated for Nobel Peace prize". bdnews24.com. 18 July 2005.
31. "199 nominated for 2005 Nobel Peace Prize". NBC News. 25 February 2005.
32. "Nobel Peace Prize: Bangladeshi-American Dr Ruhul Abid, his org HAEFA get nomination". The Daily Star. 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
33. "Dr. Ruhul Abid, nominated for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize". Health and Education for All - HAEFA. 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
34. N. J. Warren (12 October 2022). "Tevogen Bio® Expresses Gratitude for 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Nomination of the Company and its Founding CEO Ryan Saadi in Recognition of its Novel Business Model to Alleviate Health Inequality". Business Wire. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
35. "Bangladeshi physician nominated for Nobel Prize". Daily Bangladesh. 1 October 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
36. "Tevogen Bio Expresses Gratitude for 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Nomination of the Company and its Founding CEO Ryan Saadi in Recognition of its Novel Business Model to Alleviate Health Inequality". Tevogen. Retrieved 2025-03-20.