A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian <a href="/facts/Aerospace_engineering/2Ib02w7f">aerospace</a> scientist and statesman who served as the <a href="/facts/President_of_India/fYp1dsHb">president of India</a> from 2002 to 2007.
Born and raised in a Muslim family in <a href="/facts/Rameswaram/fyXsuhBF">Rameswaram</a>, <a href="/facts/Tamil_Nadu/ouqcjUKE">Tamil Nadu</a>, Kalam studied <a href="/facts/Physics/a7aH2y08">physics</a> and <a href="/facts/Aerospace_engineering/2Ib02w7f">aerospace engineering</a>. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the <a href="/facts/Defence_Research_and_Development_Organisation/HYTLS49D">Defence Research and Development Organisation</a> (DRDO) and <a href="/facts/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation/CdAoFQTL">Indian Space Research Organisation</a> (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military <a href="/facts/Integrated_Guided_Missile_Development_Program/I3LbggVd">missile development efforts</a>. He was known as the "Missile Man of India" for his work on the development of <a href="/facts/Ballistic_missile/Pl6juY73">ballistic missile</a> and <a href="/facts/Launch_vehicle/g1GCGFJB">launch vehicle</a> technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in <a href="/facts/Pokhran-II/xRhJSWkk">Pokhran-II</a> nuclear tests in 1998, India's second such test after the <a href="/facts/Smiling_Buddha/vhxqMQR1">first test</a> in 1974.
Kalam <a href="/facts/2002_Indian_presidential_election/ylJbhQjW">was elected</a> as the <a href="/facts/President_of_India/fYp1dsHb">president of India</a> in 2002 with the support of both the ruling <a href="/facts/Bharatiya_Janata_Party/raIzUjH5">Bharatiya Janata Party</a> and the then-opposition <a href="/facts/Indian_National_Congress/Im1gQksb">Indian National Congress</a>. He was widely referred to as the "People's President". He engaged in teaching, writing and public service after his presidency. He was a recipient of several awards, including the <a href="/facts/Bharat_Ratna/YX7HcwS5">Bharat Ratna</a>, India's highest civilian honour.
While delivering a lecture at <a href="/facts/Indian_Institute_of_Management_Shillong/0UUBuYfn">IIM Shillong</a>, Kalam collapsed and died from an apparent <a href="/facts/Cardiac_arrest/HIAm9AWX">cardiac arrest</a> on 27 July 2015, aged 83. Thousands attended the funeral ceremony held in his hometown of Rameswaram, where he was buried with <a href="/facts/21-gun_salute/AyLBTnHd">full state honours</a>. A <a href="/facts/Dr._A._P._J._Abdul_Kalam_Memorial/oFHgw9Sq">memorial</a> was inaugurated near his home town in 2017.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam open-in-new

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam