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Born : Oct 15, 1931 (Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India)
Died : Jul 27, 2015 (Shillong, Meghalaya, India)
Nationality : Indian
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Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was born in a necessitous and little educated Tamil family on 15 October 1931, at Rameswaram district of Tamil Nadu, India. His father, Jainulabdeen, was a boat owner, and his mother, Ashiamma, was a homemaker. He started working at a young age to support his father. He received average grades in school but was seen as a hardworking and bright student with a strong desire to learn things. He used to study for hours, especially mathematics. He completed his schooling from Rameswaram Elementary School. In 1954, he graduated in Physics from St. Joseph’s College in Tiruchirappalli, which was then affiliated to the University of Madras. Thereafter, in 1955, he moved to Madras (now Chennai) and joined the Madras Institute of Technology and studied aerospace engineering. His dream was to become a fighter pilot but he was ranked ninth while the IAF offered only eight slots. He remained a bachelor.
Bharat Ratna Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Ab dul Kalam, generally known as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, was the 11th Presidentof India (2002-2007). He was elected against Lakshmi Sehgal in 2002 and had support from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress, the two leading political parties of India. By profession, he was a scientist and an administrator in India. He worked with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as an aerospace engineer before becoming the President of India. His work on the development of launch vehicle and ballistic missile technology had earned him the name of the ‘Missile Man of India’. The Pokhran-II nuclear tests conducted in India in 1998 after the original nuclear test of 1974 saw him in a pivotal political, organisational and technical role.
In his school days, Kalam had average grades but was described as a bright and hardworking student who had a strong desire to learn. Mathematics was his main interest. Kalam did his school education at the Schwartz Higher Secondary School and went on to attend Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli from where he graduated in physics in 1954. He specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology.
An agricultural college at Kishanganj, Bihar, was renamed the "Dr. Kalam Agricultural College, Kishanganj" by the Bihar state government on the day of Kalam's funeral. The state government also announced it would name a proposed science city after Kalam.
India's First Medical Tech Institute named as Kalam Institute of Health Technology located at Visakhapatnam.
Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU) was renamed "A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University" by the Uttar Pradesh state government.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Memorial Travancore Institute of Digestive Diseases, a new research institute in Kollam city, Kerala attached to the Travancore Medical College Hospital.
A new academic complex at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala.
A new science centre and planetarium in Lawspet, Puducherry.
India and the US have launched the Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship In September 2014. The first call for applicants was announced on Friday 12 March 2016, for the fellowship which will enable up to 6 Indian PhD students and post-doctoral researchers to work with US host institutions for a period of 6–12 months. The fellowship will be operated by the binational US-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) under the Fulbright programme.
Kerala Technological University, headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram where Kalam lived for years, was renamed to A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University after his death.
A.P.J Abdul Kalam had completed his graduation in 1957 from the Madras Institute of Technology and in 1958 as a scientist he had joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
In the early 1960s, he worked with the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) under the renowned space scientist Vikram Sarabhai.
He had started his career by designing a small hovercraft at DRDO.
After visiting NASA's Langely Research Centre in Hampton, Virginia; Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland and Wallops Flight Facility in 1963-64, he had started working on an expandable rocket project independently in 1965 at DRDO.
President of India
Engineer
Scientist
Author
Professor
Politician
2014 Doctor of ScienceEdinburgh University,UK
2012 Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa)Simon Fraser University
2011 IEEE Honorary MembershipIEEE
2010 Doctor of EngineeringUniversity of Waterloo
2009 Honorary DoctorateOakland University
2009 Hoover MedalASME Foundation, USA
2009 International von Kármán Wings AwardCalifornia Institute of Technology, USA
2008 Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa)Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
2007 King Charles II MedalRoyal Society, UK
2007 Honorary Doctorate of ScienceUniversity of Wolverhampton, UK
2000 Ramanujan AwardAlwars Research Centre, Chennai
1998 Veer Savarkar AwardGovernment of India
1997 Indira Gandhi Award for National IntegrationIndian National Congress
1997 Bharat RatnaGovernment of India1994Distinguished FellowInstitute of Directors (India)
1990 Padma VibhushanGovernment of India
1981 Padma BhushanGovernment of India
He always faced the press following failed tests at ISRO and accepted responsibility for his mistakes but never claimed the credit for any of the massive successes achieved at the organization.
He was the first bachelor to become the president and occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Kalam was the third President of India to have been honored with a Bharat Ratna before being elected to the office of President.
He was known to write his own thank you cards with personalized messages in his own handwriting.
He was a scholar of Thirukkural (a classic of couplets or Kurals) and was known to quote at least one couplet in most of his speeches.
He had a keen interest in literature and wrote poems in his native Tamil.
A practicing Muslim, he was also well versed with Hindu traditions and read the Bhagavad Gita.
