British surgeon James Ranald Martin, who worked in Calcutta and other parts of India, and is remembered for his pioneering work connecting medical health and environment, was born on this day.

He joined the British military service in Bengal in 1817 and observed from close the effects of cholera and a fatal fever on the people here. He served in the First Anglo-Burmese war. He felt diseases and ill health affected Indians and Europeans differently and stressed the requirement of a medical topography mapping the health characteristics of Indians. He prioritised the prevention of smallpox and stressed the need for clean water in Calcutta. He was a member of The Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta. Many reports by this organisation highlighted deforestation and its effects.

Martin occupied several important posts in the colonial government, including surgeon to the Governor-General and garrison surgeon at Fort William. He wrote Notes on Medical Topography of Calcutta (1837) and other books.