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{{Short description|Indian academic (1887–1944)}}
{{Orphan|date=August 2023}}

{{Use Indian English|date=May 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dr. M.A. Sampathkumaran
| image = Dr.M.A. Sampathkumaran.jpg
| caption = The Founder of Botany Department, [[Central College, Bangalore|Central College]], Bengaluru, India.
| birth_date = 15 July 1887
| birth_place = [[Melukote]], Mysore State (current Karnataka), India
| death_date = 15 December 1944
| death_place = [[Bengaluru]], [[Karnataka]], [[India]]
| occupation = [[Professor]]
| spouse = Singamma
| parents = Alwar Thirumala Iyengar and Yaggamma
| children = (M.A.) Alwar, Srinivasan, Anandalwar, Parthasarathy, Yaggamma, Vedavalli, Ranganayaki, Thangamma, Kamala
}}

'''Mandayam Anandampillai Sampathkumaran''' (1882 or 1887 - 15 December 1944)<ref name="IAS profile">{{cite web |title=Mandayam Ananthanpillai Sampathkumaran |url=https://fellows.ias.ac.in/profile/v/FL1934093 |website=Indian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru, Fellows' portal |publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref> was an Indian academic in the field of Botany. In 1919, he founded the Department of Botany at [[Central College, Bangalore|Central College, Bengaluru]], India.<ref name="Bangalore Mirror 2018">{{cite news |last1=Bangalore Mirror Bureau |title=Department of Botany at Bengaluru's Central College completes 100 years |url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/department-of-botany-at-bengalurus-central-college-completes-100-years/articleshow/66418491.cms |access-date=27 April 2021 |work=Bangalore Mirror |date=29 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="TOI 2019">{{cite news |last1=TNN |title=After Bengaluru Central University, Bangalore University set to celebrate botany department's centennial year |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/after-bengaluru-central-university-bangalore-university-set-to-celebrate-botany-departments-centennial-year/articleshow/72831737.cms |access-date=27 April 2021 |work=Times of India |date=17 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="Botany Dept profile">{{cite web |title=BOTANY - About Us |url=https://eng.bangaloreuniversity.ac.in/science/botany/ |website=Bangalore University |date=19 July 2014 |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref>

==Early life and education==

Sampathkumaran was born in [[Melukote]]- a small hilltop village near Sringapattanam in [[Mysore State]], [[India]]. He was the last son of Sri Alwar Thirumala Iyengar (Sri Alwar Swamy) and Smt. Yaggamma. According to an obituary written by M.O.P. Iyengar, Sampathkumaran "came from a very highly cultured and orthodox [[Brahmin]] [[Sri Vaishnava]] family." His father, Sri Alwar Swamy, was a [[Sanskrit]] scholar who was well versed in Sanskrit and [[Indian philosophy]], scripture and a revered guru who had followers in the thousands. His mother Smt. Yaggamma was a devoted housewife. His grandfather was also a Sanskrit scholar and also was the previous Sri Alwar Swamy.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

Sampathkumaran received his Bachelor of Science from [[Central College, Bangalore|Central College]], Bengaluru. In 1909, Sampathkumaran received his post graduate degree in M.A. from the [[Presidency College, Chennai|Presidency College]], Madras, with [[Botany]] and [[Biology]] as his specialization.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Career==
According to an obituary written by M.O.P. Iyengar, Sampathkumaran began his career in the domain of botany after his graduation, on 14 March 1910 when he was appointed as the Demonstrator in Botany at Central College, Bengaluru. The subject of botany was first introduced in the college with his appointment as the Demonstrator. Sampathkumaran was the sole member of the botany department at the time.

According to an obituary written by M.O.P. Iyengar, in 1915, as a Mysore Government-sponsored scholar Sampathkumaran went to the [[United States of America]] to further his academic education. Sampathkumaran studied at the University of Chicago<ref>{{cite web |title=Botany Department, University of Chicago |url=https://photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu/db.xqy?one=apf1-05414.xml |website=The University of Chicago Photographic Archive |access-date=27 April 2021 |quote=Faculty and Students, 1917}}</ref> under [[John Merle Coulter|Prof. John Merle Coulter]] and Prof. Charles Joseph Chamberlain.

In 1917, Sampathkumaran received his [[Doctor of Philosophy]] (PhD) from the [[University of Chicago]] with his doctoral thesis on "Stelar Cambium and Its Derivatives".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Sarah Gibbard |title=HENRY CHANDLER COWLES (1869-1939) AND COWLES BOG, INDIANA |date=1999 |publisher=Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |page=77 |url=http://npshistory.com/publications/indu/cook-1999.pdf |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref> His thesis about "Smut on Sorgum" was accepted by the University of Chicago for Master's thesis in 1916.<ref name="Sigma Xi 1917"/><ref>{{cite thesis|last1=Sampathkumaran|first1=Mandayam Annandampillai|date=1916|title=Smut on Sorgum|url=https://catalog.lib.uchicago.edu/vufind/Record/12556398|website=University of Chicago|oclc=1252731765 }}</ref> He was an [[Honorary Fellow]] of the University of Chicago from 1916 to 1917. On 22 November 1916, he was elected as a member of the Chicago chapter of [[Sigma XI Society]].<ref name="Sigma Xi 1917">{{cite journal |last1=Shaw |first1=James Byrnie |last2=Lemon |first2=Harvey B. |title=CHAPTER REPORTS: Illinois, Chicago |journal=Sigma Xi Quarterly |date=June 1917 |volume=5 |issue=2 |page=74 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27824035 |access-date=27 April 2021 |publisher=Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society|jstor=27824035 }}</ref>

According to an obituary written by M.O.P. Iyengar, after Sampathkumaran returned to India in 1919, he became an assistant professor of botany, which was the highest academic position available in the department at that time. He then founded the Department of Botany at the Central College, which was part of the Mysore University, as the Head of the department.<ref name="Botany Dept profile"/> Sampathkumaran was one of the pioneers of research on Plant Cytology and Morphology in India.

According to an obituary written by M.O.P. Iyengar, Sampathkumaran was appointed the Professor of Botany in 1923 until his retirement in 1941. From 1936 to 1939, he served on the Standing Committee of the Academic Council at the University of Mysore and was an Office Bearer in the University Union in 1937.<ref>{{cite web |title=University Of Mysore The Calendar For 1937 1938 Vol Ii |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.85871/2015.85871.University-Of-Mysore-The-Calendar-For-1937-1938-Vol-Ii_djvu.txt |website=University of Mysore |publisher=G.T. A. Press |access-date=27 April 2021 |location=Mysore |date=1938}}</ref>

Sampathkumaran was elected Sectional President of the Plant Sciences section of the [[Indian Science Congress Association|Indian Science Congress]] in 1927.<ref>{{cite web |title=PROCEEDINGS OF THE 107TH INDIAN SCIENCE CONGRESS, Bangalore, 2020 |url=http://sciencecongress.nic.in/pdf/Abstracts_107th_ISC_Plant_Science.pdf |website=Indian Science Congress |publisher=ISC |page=227}}</ref> He was elected as a fellow in the Plant Sciences section of the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]] in 1934, and served in the council from 1936 until 1940.<ref name="IAS profile" /> He was elected Office Bearer of the [[Indian Botanical Society]] in 1942.<ref>{{cite web |title=Past Office Bearers |url=https://www.indianbotsoc.org/post.php |website=The Indian Botanical Society |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
[[File:Dr.MAS Centenary.jpg|thumb|left]][[File:Centenary Felicitation 2019.jpg|thumb|right]]
Dr. Sampathkumaran died on 15 December 1944<ref name="IAS profile" /> with a suspected heart failure.
[[File:Dr. M.A.S Obituary.jpg|thumb]]

In September 2019, Bangalore University held a centenary celebration of the Department of Botany<ref name="Bangalore Mirror 2018" /> and honoured Dr. Sampathkumaran and felicitated some of his surviving grandchildren.

The University of Mysore has established a Memorial Cash Prize for securing First Rank in M.Phil. Botany, under the names of Prof. M.A. Sampathkumaran and Mr. S. Parthasarathy Iyangar.<ref>{{cite web |title=Botany |url=https://uni-mysore.ac.in/english-version/botany |website=University of Mysore |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Dr. M.A.S Obituary2.jpg|thumb]]

Author- Ramapriyan Singlachar, Sydney Australia. A great-grandson.
Photos provided by Singamma and M.A. Sampath - Grandchildren.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampathkumaran, Mandayam Anandampillai}}
[[Category:1880s births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian botanists]]
[[Category:People from Bengaluru]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Mysore]]
[[Category:Botanists from British India]]

Mandayam Anandampillai Sampathkumaran - Revision history

JerilynCropper5: Starting bio