He was known as the ‘Indian Edison,’ making 200 inventions and 40 patents in his whole career. Famous for his ‘Bhisotype,’ a machine that could use thirty-two different metal types at the same time to print newspapers and books, Shankar Abaji Bhise dazzled the world with his amazing inventions.
Growing up in Bombay, Shankar Abaji Bhise showed a real aptitude for the sciences. At just 14, he made a small device at home that produced coal gas. When he was a teenager, he spent a lot of time reading the Scientific American magazine.
Shankar Abaji Bhise also understood that science was a collaborative pursuit and began a club in Bombay. By the time he was in his early 20s, he started creating many cool things like bottles that couldn’t be opened easily, electric bike gadgets, and a sign for Bombay’s suburban trains.
In the late 1890s, Shankar Abaji Bhise gained recognition when he won a contest by a British magazine for creating a machine to weigh groceries. Beating many British contestants, he got support from the local administration to go to London and attract investors.
Before leaving, he told his friends that he wouldn’t return to Bombay unless he succeeded or ran out of money. He met the secretary of the Indian National Congress, Dinsha Wacha, and was introduced to Dadabhai Naoroji, a key figure in the Indian national movement.
Shankar Abaji Bhise started working in a workshop in north London. He developed various items like kitchen gadgets, automatic toilet flushers, a telephone, and an early version of the push-up bra. However, it was his innovations in the printing industry that gained worldwide attention.
Shankar Abaji Bhise invented a machine that could use thirty-two different metal types at the same time to print newspapers and books. People didn’t believe him, so he took up a challenge from engineers at the Caston Type Foundry in London.
Shankar Abaji Bhise accepted the challenge, got financial help, and created his own foundry, Bhiso-Type Ltd, in 1908. His machine could cast and assemble 1200 different types every minute, impressing everyone and proving his critics wrong.
While India was known for success in science, literature, and the arts, it hadn’t contributed much to the world in terms of inventions. Shankar Abaji Bhise’s work changed that perception, showing that India could also make significant contributions in the field of invention.
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very good well done thank you so much
HEMAMA-segc.