Prof Arthur Compton, who received a Nobel prize for his research on cosmic rays in 1927, carried out a large part of that research at Forman Christian College.
Initially known as Mission College, the institution was founded in 1864 by American Presbyterian missionary Dr Charles W Forman. The college was renamed after its founder in 1894.
FCC was the first in the region to set up a department of Industrial Chemistry in 1917.
After being affiliated with Calcutta University for a while, the college was later linked to University of the Punjab. The first two science graduates of Forman Christian College were also the first two science graduates of the University of the Punjab.