Birbal Sahni was born in Bhera , Shahpur District , in today 's Pakistani Punjab , on 14 November 1891 . He was the third child of Ishwar Devi and the pioneer Indian meteorologist and scientist Lala Ruchi Ram Sahni who lived in Lahore . The family came from Dera Ismail Khan and they frequently made visits to Bhera which was close to the Salt Range and Khewra 's geology may have interested Birbal at a young age . Birbal was also influenced into science by his grandfather who owned a banking business at Dera Ismail Khan and conducted amateur research in chemistry . Ruchi Ram was a professor of chemistry at Lahore and was also a social activist with an interest in the emancipation of women . Ruchi Ram had studied at Manchester and worked with Ernest Rutherford and Niels Bohr . Every summer , Ruchi Ram would take his sons on long treks in the Himalayas , visiting Pathankot , Rohtang , Narkanda , Chini Pass , Amarnath , Machoi Glacier and Jozila Pass between 1907 and 1911 . Ruchi Ram was involved in the non-co-operation movement since the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as well as the Brahmo Samaj movement . The proximity of their house to Bradlaugh Hall made their home a centre of political activity and house guests included Motilal Nehru , Gopal Krishna Gokhale , Sarojini Naidu , and Madan Mohan Malaviya . Birbal Sahni received his early education in India at the Mission and Central Model School Lahore , Government College University , Lahore ( where his father worked , receiving a B.Sc . in 1911 ) and Punjab University . The family library included books in science , literary classics and He learnt botany under Shiv Ram Kashyap ( 1882-1934 ) , the " father of Indian bryology " and travelled with Kashyap to Chamba , Leh , Baltal , Uri , Poonch and Gulmarg between 1920 and 1923 . He followed his brothers to England and graduated from Emmanuel College , Cambridge in 1914 . He later studied under Albert Charles Seward , and was awarded the D.Sc . degree of the University of London in 1919
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Birbal Sahni