By Sumi Khan Dhaka, Aug 3 : Bangladesh marked the 159th birth anniversary of eminent scientist and philosopher Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray. Ray was born in the village of Raruli-Katipara under Paikgachha upazila in Khulna on August 2, 1861. On Sunday, admirers paid their respects at a program held portrait in the village. The program had a limited capacity considering the prevailing coronavirus situation. Terming Ray as a social reformer, the attendees recalled the life and works of the genious scientist, philosopher and philanthropist. Following an education in Kolkata, Ray won a Gilchrist Scholarship to study in Britain in the 1880s, where he met Jagadish Chandra Bose and Satyaranjan Das. He was elected Vice-President of the University of Edinburgh Chemical Society in 1887. A year later, he returned to India. Ray was awarded the Hope Prize which allowed him to work on his research for a further period of one year after completion of his doctorate. His thesis was titled, "Conjugated Sulphates of the Copper-magnesium Group: A Study of Isomorphous Mixtures and Molecular Combinations". Nobel laureate William Ramsay congratulated him for his achievement. /IANS