Email Marketing is not dead! Try Probaho, a homegrown ESP from Bangladesh ▶ Join Now
Subscribe

22 Unusual Facts To Know About Samson H Chowdhury Of Square

1-Eldest son of Eakub Hussain Chowdhury and Latika Chowdhury, Samson H Chowdhury, was born at Aruakandi in Gopalganj on 25 September 1925.

2-He started his schooling in a mission school in Chandpur as his father was posted as a medical officer at the Chandpur Mission Hospital in 1930.

3-His Father sent Samson to Mymensingh for better education in 1933. He got admitted to Victoria Mission School in Mymensingh in class IV.

4- He Joined Royal Indian Navy without informing his parents in 1943. In 1946 he joined a Naval mutiny against British Colonial rulers, and eventually got arrested.

5. Samson spent five days in jail and the he sent to a concentration camp for a month but he was later released and also given a clean certificate of discharge with a recommendation for a government job in any administrative position, or in the law and order agency.

6- He started his formal professional career by joining postal department as a government employee in 1947. That's how his professional career started. 

7- He got married with a 15-year-old-girl, Anita Biswas on 6 Aug 1947. Samson was 22 then.

8- Samson left his post office job and returned home in 1952.

9-Samson started running his father's medicine shop 'Hossain Pharmacy' in the same year.

10-After four years, in 1956 Samson borrowed money from his father and opened a small pharmaceutical company named 'Esons' in Ataikula, Pabna. 'Esons' referred to Eakub and sons

11-As an attempt to expand the business, in 1958 he formed a partnership with three other friends and launched Square pharmaceutical company.

12-Initial investment of Square was Rs. 17,000. Other three partners of Square were Dr Kazi Harunur Rashid, Dr PK Shaha and Radha Binod Roy.

14-In 1964 Square was turned into a private limited company with an authorized capital of Rs 500,000 and a paid up capital of Rs 400,000.

15- In 1974 Square became a licensee of Janssen Pharmaceutica, Belgium, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson International, USA. It was a turning point for Square as a company. 

16-In 1998 Samson was named "Business Executive of the Year" by American Chamber in Bangladesh.

18-He was also named "Best Entrepreneur of the Country for the year 2000–2001" by the Daily Star and DHL Worldwide Express.

20-In an interview, Chowdhury had said that they had chosen the name Square because it was "started by four friends and also because it signifies accuracy and perfection, meaning quality".

22-He performed the responsibility of the chairman of Transparency International's Bangladesh chapter from 2004-2007 and of Shahbazpur Tea Estate and Mutual Trust Bank.

Sources: Samsonhchowdury.com, Wikipedia 

Mohammad Ruhul Kader is a Dhaka-based entrepreneur and writer. He founded Future Startup, a digital publication covering the startup and technology scene in Dhaka with an ambition to transform Bangladesh through entrepreneurship and innovation. He writes about internet business, strategy, technology, and society. He is the author of Rethinking Failure. His writings have been published in almost all major national dailies in Bangladesh including DT, FE, etc. Prior to FS, he worked for a local conglomerate where he helped start a social enterprise. Ruhul is a 2022 winner of Emergent Ventures, a fellowship and grant program from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He can be reached at [email protected]

In-depth business & tech coverage from Dhaka

Stories exclusively available at FS

About FS

Contact Us