A nationwide body of chemical scientists on Sunday decided to observe August 2, the birthday of the legendary Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, as National Chemistry Day.

Ray, an educationist and entrepreneur, is also widely regarded as the first modern Indian chemist.

The executive committee of the Indian Council of Chemists ratified a proposal for the National Chemistry Day to commemorate Ray’s contributions and highlight the continuing importance of chemistry, said Ranjit Verma, former vice-chancellor of Munger University and current president of the council.

The council has more than 2,800 members, mainly chemistry teachers and researchers in academic institutions across the country.

Ray who died in 1944 at the age of 82 had established the first modern Indian research school in chemistry and was the founder of Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, the country’s first pharmaceuticals company. A paper on Ray published in 2011 in the Indian Journal of the History of Science had described him as “a scientist, teacher, author and a patriotic entrepreneur”.