15 Interesting Facts About Rabindranath Tagore for Students 

When it comes to the famous personalities of India, one cannot do away without mentioning Rabindranath Tagore, one of the greatest poets of the country. During his lifetime, Tagore composed more than 2000 songs and wrote an extensive amount of poems, dramas, stories, and books such as Nationalism, The Home and the World, Gora, Stray Birds, etc. Additionally, Tagore is also a popular topic for essay writing competitions, speech, and quiz competitions. To help you learn more about this iconic personality, here are some lesser-known interesting facts about Rabindranath Tagore. 

15 Unknown Facts About Rabindranath Tagore

1. Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 and passed away on 7 August 1941. 

2. Rabindranath Tagore is famously known as the “Bard of Bengal” along with other lesser-known names such as Biswokobi, Gurudeb, and Kobiguru. 

3. He started writing poems at the young age of mere 8 years. Fast forward to a few years later, he published his first book at the age of sixteen under the pseudonym Bhānusiṃha (“Sun Lion”). 

4. Rabindranath Tagore was a brilliant and talented child. He was a great poet, playwright, philosopher, painter, social reformer, and composer. 

Also Read: Education of Rabindranath Tagore: Early Life and Work

5. He composed somewhere around 200 songs which are a part of the popular Rabindra Sangeet.

6. He was not only enrolled in a school in Sussex, England but also studied law at the University College London.

7. In 1913, Rabindranath received the Nobel Prize in Literature for Gitanjali, a book full of his Bengali poems. 

Also Read: Nobel Laureates of India: 1902-2019 and their Achievements

8. The preface of Gitanjali, Tagore’s most famous work for which he even received the Nobel Prize, was written by another great poet W.B. Yeats. 

9. He is the first non-European and Asian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Also Read: 11 Famous Books by Rabindranath Tagore You Must Read

10. Rabindranath Tagore established the Visva-Bharati University, a public central university in West Bengal. 

11. Rabindranath Tagore also penned down the Indian national anthem Jana Gana Mana and the national anthem of Bangladesh, Amar Sonar Bangla.

12. Tagore suffered from Partial Color Deficiency, also known as Protanopia. 

13. King George the 5th of England bestowed Rabindranath Tagore with the honor of knighthood in 1915.

14. He renounced his knighthood during his protest against the Jalianwala Bagh massacre of April 13, 1919.

15. Tagore was once invited by Albert Einstein. Their chats have been documented in the famous “Note on the Nature of Reality”. 

Hope you had fun reading these fun facts about Rabindranath Tagore. If you want to read more such interesting facts, then you can also visit our blog Fun Facts About Cricket.