Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay (26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), popularly known as Ishwar Chandra 'Vidyasagar' (Bengali: [iʃːɔɾt͡ʃɔnd̪ɾo bid̪ːaʃaɡɔɾ]; lit. 'Vidya-Sagar, the Ocean of Knowledge'), was an Indian educator and social reformer of the 19th century.

He was renowned as one of the principal proponents of the Bengal Renaissance. He was the most prominent campaigner for Hindu widow remarriage, petitioning the Legislative Council despite severe opposition, including a counter-petition (by Radhakanta Deb and the Dharma Sabha) which had nearly four times as many signatures. Even though widow remarriage was considered a flagrant breach of Hindu customs and was staunchly opposed, Lord Dalhousie personally finalised the bill, and the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856, was passed. Against child marriage, the efforts of Vidyasagar led to the Age of Consent Act, 1891. In which the minimum age of consummation of marriage was 12 years.

A weekly newspaper, Somprakash Patrika, was started on 15 November 1858 (1 Agrahayan 1265 BS) by Dwarakanath Vidyabhusan. Dwarakanath (1819–1886) was a professor of the Sanskrit College in Calcutta, India. The original plan was mooted by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), who continued to advise Dwarakanath in editorial matters. He was also associated as secretary with the Hindu Female School, which later came to be known as Bethune Female School.

He excelled in his undergraduate studies of Sanskrit and philosophy. The Sanskrit College and University, where he studied, gave him the honorific title Vidyasagar ('Ocean of Knowledge'; from the Sanskrit विद्या, vidyā, 'knowledge' and सागर, sāgara, 'ocean').