Bhaktivinoda Thakur

Bhaktivinoda Thakur , also written Bhaktivinoda hkura , born Kedarnath Datta , was a prominent thinker of Bengali Renaissance and a leading philosopher, savant and spiritual reformer of Gaudiya Vaishnavism who effected its resurgence in India in late 19th and early 20th century and was hailed by contemporary scholars as the most influential Gaudiya Vaishnava leader of his time. He is also credited, along with his son Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, with pioneering the propagation of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the West and its eventual global spread.

Kedarnath Datta was born onSeptember 1838 in the village of Birnagar in a traditional kayastha Hindu family of wealthy Bengali landlords. After receiving village schooling, Kedarnath continued his education at Hindu College in Calcutta, where he acquainted himself with contemporary Western philosophy and theology. There he became a close associate of prominent literary and intellectual figures of Bengali Renaissance of the time, such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Sisir Kumar Ghosh. At eighteen, Kedarnath commenced a teaching career in rural areas of Bengal and Orissa until he became a employee with the British government in the Judicial Service, from which he retired in 1894 as District Magistrate.

Source: Wikipedia