(b. Oct. 15, 1931, Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu), Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, , eminent defence scientist, and the man responsible for building India's missile muscle. Dr. Kalam was India's eleventh president from 2002 to 2007.
Kalam was born to a Tamil Muslim family. His father rented boats to fishermen to pay his school fees at St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli. After completing school, Kalam studied aeronautical engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology. He began his career in 1958, at the Defence
Research and Development Organization (DRDO). From there, in 1962, he moved on to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), where he led several landmark projects, includingone to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III), with which the 35-kg Rohini I satellite was positioned in the near earth orbit in July 1980, making India one of the world's few developing countries to join the space club.
After 19 years at ISRO, Kalam returned to the DRDO to take charge of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme in 1982. Under his leadership, ISRO indigenously developed and operationalized several strategic short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, including Agni and Prithvi. Due to his success in consolidating India's missile repertoire, he is often referred to as the "Missile Man of India".
In 1998, Kalam was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. He was earlier awarded the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Padma Bhushan (1981).
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