Tagore, Rabindranath (1861–1941)

A photograph from the 1920s shows Indian philosopher and poet Rabindranath Tagore, with Albert Einstein on the left. Tagore studied law in England but returned to Bengal to become part of the revival of Hindu culture there in the late 1800s.

Bengali Indian writer. He translated into English his own verse Gitanjali/Song Offerings (1912) and his verse play Chitra (1896). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.

Born in Calcutta, into a wealthy family, he began to write poetry as a child; his first book appeared when he was only 17 years old. After studying law in England, he returned to India, where he was probably the most important and popular author of the colonial era, writing poetry, short stories, novels, and plays. An ardent nationalist and advocate of social reform, he resigned his knighthood as a gesture of protest against British repression in India.