Janaki Ammal (4 November 1897 – 7 February 1984) was a botanist, cytogeneticist, and phytogeographer. She was born in Tellicherry (now Thalassery, Kerala) and completed her schooling there before moving to Madras to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree from Queen Mary’s College before receiving her Honours Degree in Botany from Presidency College in 1921. It was while she was teaching at Women’s Christian College that she was awarded the prestigious Barbour Scholarship from the University of Michigan in the USA. She earned her Master’s Degree and Doctorate from here and was then appointed Professor of Botany at Maharaja’s College of Science in Trivandrum.
In 1935, Janaki Ammal was selected to be a research fellow by the famous scientist and Nobel laureate C. V. Raman in the very first year of the Indian Academy of Sciences. However, she faced several difficulties among her peers on account of being a single woman and because she was from what was considered a backward caste.
Janaki Ammal’s most notable work was on sugarcane and the eggplant (brinjal). She has collected various valuable plants of medicinal and economic value from the rain forests of Kerala. She was appointed Officer on Special Duty to the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) in October 1952. Later, she served as Director-General of the BSI. She was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1935, and of the Indian National Science Academy in 1957. The University of Michigan conferred an honorary LL.D. on her in 1956 while the Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri in 1977.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janaki_Ammal
https://www.thebetterindia.
com/75174/janaki-ammal-botanist-sugarcane-magnolia/
https://www.iiim.res.in/
herbarium/edavaleth-kakkat-janaki-ammal.htm
https://www.thenewsminute.com/
article/long-ignored-renowned-
botanist-janaki-ammal-finally-recognised-biography-102823