Our leading lightsQazi Motahar Hossain
Pioneer statistician
Born in Lakshmipur in the district of Kushtia on 30 July, 1897. His parents were Qazi Gaohar Uddin Ahmed and Tasirunnesa. He passed his childhood at Bagmara in Faridpur.
Education: After receiving his early education from the village primary school, he passed Entrance from Kushtia Zilla School in 1915. He had natural gift for science and mathematics. And it was only for him that one of his teachers introduced Mechanics course in the school.
After school final Mr. Motahar Hossain got admission at the Presidency College, Kolkata in the science faculty. But due to some unavoidable circumstances, he had to shift to Rajshahi College in the middle of academic year. In 1917 he passed I Sc from there.
He had his higher studies in Physics and Mathematics from Dhaka College and completed BA (Hons) in 1919 from there. Eminent teachers like W A Jenkins was his Physics teacher, while for mathematics he was lucky to get Wrangler Bhupati Mohan Sen.
In 1921, he passed M A in Physics from Dhaka College under Kolkata University. Before his M A examination, he got important help from Satyen Bose, who joined the newly established Dhaka University in 1921 as a reader in the Physics department.
Then he went to Kolkata to study Statistics with the encouragement of Satyen Bose. Great statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis had just introduced the new subject to Indian students. In 1938 he got a Diploma in Statistics from ISI.
Marriage: In 1920 he married Sajeda Khatun.
Professional career: In 1923 he became an assistant lecturer in Dhaka University. In 1948, he was behind establishing M A in Statistics there and he joined the department. He retired from Dhaka University in 1961.
In 1964 he founded the Institute of Statistical Research and Training. From 1964 to1966 he served as the founder-director of the institute. He retired from the position of director in 1966 due to old age. Dhaka University appointed him as honorary Professor Emeritus in 1969. He died in Dhaka on 9th October in 1981.
-Science & Life Desk
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