Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist

Chandra Wickramasinghe

Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe is a Sri Lankan-born British mathematician and astronomer. His research interests include the interstellar medium, infrared astronomy, light scattering theory, applications of solid-state physics to astronomy, the early Solar System, comets, astrochemistry, the origin of life and astrobiology. A student and collaborator of Fred Hoyle, the pair worked jointly for over 40 years as the most famous proponents of a non-mainstream version of panspermia, the proposal that life was seeded on Earth through space-based processes. In 1974 they proposed that some dust in interstellar space matched the spectral characteristics of freeze-dried bacteria, which was largely ignored at its publishing while the ubiquity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons explains the apparent match.

Born

1939

January 20

Died

Living

Era

1930s

Country

—

About

Chandra, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1939 Born

Also on January 20

What else happened on this day, through history

250 Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
1156 Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Lake Köyliö.
1265 The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament".
1320 Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.

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The world in 1939

When Chandra arrived

april 1 Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.
april 18 Robert Menzies, who became Australia's longest-serving prime minister, is elected as leader of the United Australia Party after the death of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons.
april 30 The 1939–40 New York World's Fair opens.
april 30 NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's N.Y. World's Fair opening day ceremonial address.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on January 20

David Lynch 1946–2025 American television and film director, visual artist and musician, complications from emphysema (born 1946) Derek Dougan 1938–2007 Irish-English footballer and journalist (died 2007) Enoch L. Johnson 1883–1968 American mob boss (born 1883) Eric Stewart 1945– English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer J. J. McCarthy 2003– American football player Jan Muršak 1988– Slovenian ice hockey player Jeffrey Epstein 1953–2019 American financier and child sex trafficker (born 1953) José Luis Garci 1944– Spanish director and producer McKeeva Bush 1955– Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1939

Adolfo Azcuna 1939– Filipino lawyer and judge Aníbal Cavaco Silva 1939– Portuguese economist and politician, 19th President of the Portuguese Republic Balu Mahendra 1939–2014 Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (born 1939) Billy "Crash" Craddock 1939– American singer-songwriter Claude François 1939–1978 Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (died 1978) David Frost 1939–2013 English journalist and game show host (died 2013) Dusty Springfield 1939–1999 English singer and record producer (died 1999) Ekaterina Maximova 1939–2009 Russian ballerina and actress (born 1939) Feroz Khan 1939– Indian actor, director, and producer (died 2009)

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More to explore

Chandra's birthday January 20 Chandra's zodiac Aquarius When Chandra arrived 1939