In his Monthly Heritage Talk for Jan 2026 titled "Britain's Greatest Gift: The Life and Work of Sir William 'Oriental' Jones", award-winning heritage speaker Rangarathnam Gopu showcases the life and extraordinary accomplishments of Sir William “Oriental” Jones and his rich legacy.
About the Speaker:
Rangarathnam Gopu, was born and brought up in Madras. He followed up a BE in Computer Engineering with an MS in Computer Science from the Texas A&M University. He then worked in the US, as a software engineer, mostly at Microsoft in Seattle.
On his return to India, his interests turned towards history and heritage, including the history of science and technology. He lectures on these and other topics at various fora. His articles on several topics have been published in national magazines like The Week, the New Indian Express and Swarajya.
He has conducted heritage tours of Mamallapuram, Kanchipuram, Orissa, Ajanta, Ellora, Tanjavur, Badami, Hampi and the Madras Egmore Museum for several groups including schools and colleges. He was a cultural consultant for the Routes and Roots exhibition, as part of the 2023 G-20 summit.
In 2016, Ramu Endowments, which conducted the South Indian Heritage Series lectures, bestowed on him, the Vedavalli Memorial Heritage Award for services to Culture.
He is one of the co-founders of the Varahamihira Science Forum, which conducts monthly lectures and workshops on science for the public.
He teaches courses on Indian Astronomy and Mathematics and on Inventions and Discoveries. He conducts courses on Indian Astronomy and Mathematics, and on Pallava Grantham script for the general public.
