He was born on February 21, 1894 in Bhera, Shahpur District, British India to Parmeshwari Sahai Bhatnagar, a school master, and his wife.

When his father died, his mother returned to her father’s house in Sikandarabad, U.P where he spent most of his childhood.

His maternal grandfather was an engineer and gradually he also developed an interest in science and engineering. He was also drawn towards poetry through various literary works he encountered in his grandfather’s house.

He received his early education from the DAV High School, Sikandarabad. Then, he attended the Dayal Singh College, Lahore and became an active member of Saraswati Stage Society.

In 1913, he cleared the Intermediate Examination of the Punjab University in first class. Then he got enrolled in the Forman Christian College and completed graduation with major in physics in 1916, and MSc in chemistry in 1919.

After completing his masters, he was awarded a scholarship by the Dayal Singh College Trust to study abroad and he left for England. In 1921, he earned his D.Sc. degree from the London University under the guidance of chemistry professor Frederick G. Donnan.

In 1921, after his return to India, he joined Banaras Hindu University (BHU) as a professor of chemistry. He served at BHU for the next three years and also wrote the University song ‘Kulgeet’ for BHU.

Later, he moved to the University of the Punjab, Lahore where he was appointed the Professor of Physical Chemistry and Director of University Chemical Laboratories. It was the most active period of his scientific career.

He became involved in solving industrial problems of different organizations such as Delhi Cloth Mills, J.K. Mills Ltd. of Kanpur, Ganesh Flour Mills Ltd. of Layallapur, Tata Oil Mills Ltd. of Bombay, and Steel Brothers & Co. Ltd. of London.

In 1940, the Board of Scientific and Industrial Research (BSIR) was formed for a period of two years and he was appointed as its Director. In 1941, he persuaded the government to set up an Industrial Research Utilisation Committee (IRUC) for further investment into industrial research.

In 1942, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was formed and the BSIR and IRUC became its advisory bodies. In 1943, CSIR approved his proposal to establish five national laboratories.

Post-independence, he was made the chairman of the CSIR and he became the first director general of the council. He established many laboratories and mentored many great minds during his tenure as the head of the CSIR.

He was appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Educational Adviser to government. He played a significant role both in the constitution and deliberations of the Scientific Manpower Committee Report of 1948.

He was also instrumental in the establishment of the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) of India and for the initiation of the Industrial Research Association movement in the country.

His major innovation was improving the procedure for drilling crude oil.

His research contributions in the areas of magnetochemistry and physical chemistry of emulsion were widely recognized. He also did considerable work in applied chemistry.

He is largely celebrated for establishing various chemical laboratories in India such as Central Food Processing Technological Institute, Mysore; National Chemical Laboratory, Pune; the National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi; the National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur and the Central Fuel Institute, Dhanbad.

In 1936 New Year Honors List, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his excellent contributions to pure and applied chemistry.

In 1941, he was knighted by the British government for his contributions to science.

In 1943, he was elected a member of Royal Society of the United Kingdom.

In 1954, he was honored with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India.

The ‘Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology’, named in his honor, is awarded to outstanding scientists who made significant contributions in various branches of science since 1958.

He was married to Lajwanti who died in 1946.

He died of a heart attack on January 1, 1955 in New Delhi, India.

He was the first Chairman of the University Grants Commission.