Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty
Indian doctor
Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty, also spelled Surjo Kumar Chakraborty (28 February 1826 – 29 September 1874) was the first Indian to pass the examination of the Indian Medical Service (IMS) in 1855 and subsequently became the Professor of Materia Medica at Calcutta Medical College (CMC) in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Orphaned at the age of six, his aspirations for an English education led him to the Hare School and then entry into medicine at the Medical College of Bengal, where, under the guidance of retired professor of anatomy and obstetrics Henry Goodeve and funding from the government, he was one of the first four Brahmin medical students taken to England in 1845 for further medical training. Upon return to India in 1850, despite his achievements being celebrated and supported by some of his British colleagues, he was prohibited from taking up a senior post in the IMS. When the announcement to open the IMS examination to 'all' came in 1854, Chuckerbutty took the opportunity to take it and passed in second place.
Returning again to India, he became the first Indian professor of Medicine at Calcutta Medical College. In addition, he co-founded the Bethune Society and became the president of the Bengal Branch of the British Medical Association. As one of the earliest Indians to contribute to western medicine, he published in medical journals including The Lancet, the British Medical Journal and The Indian Medical Gazette. Initially embracing the British ways of life, his later lectures, "Popular Lectures on Subjects of Indian Interest", following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, reflected his changed opinion and criticism of European interest. He died in Kensington during a visit to London in 1874.
Early life
Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty was born a Brahmin, as Soorjo Coomar Chuckerbutty, in either 1824, 1826 or 1827 in Kanaksar village of Louhajanj area situated on the bank of Padma river (Ganges river) of Bikrampur (present day Munshiganj district) of Dhaka district ,British India, to pleader, Radhamadhab Chuckerbutty. He was orphaned at the age of six.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty” as indian doctor. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as indian doctor. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7562749. VIAF identifies the subject as 33751914. The Library of Congress control number is n97803106. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1826, 1874, 1855 and 1845.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty primary sources, Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty archive and Soorjo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.