Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (/ˈæbdəl kəˈlɑːm/ (About this soundlisten); 15 October 1931 – 27 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts.[1] He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.[2][3][4] He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.[5]

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.jpg

Official portrait, 2002

11th President of India

In office

25 July 2002 – 25 July 2007

Prime Minister

Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Manmohan Singh

Vice President

Krishan Kant

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat

Preceded by

K. R. Narayanan

Succeeded by

Pratibha Patil

Personal details

Born

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

15 October 1931

Rameswaram, Madras Presidency, British India

(present-day Tamil Nadu, India)

Died

27 July 2015 (aged 83)

Shillong, Meghalaya, India

Resting place

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Desiya Ninaivagam, Pei Karumbu, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India

Nationality

Indian

Alma mater

St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli (BEng)

Madras Institute of Technology (MEng)

Profession

Aerospace ScientistAuthor

Awards

Full list

Notable work(s)

Wings of Fire, India 2020, Ignited Minds, Indomitable Spirit, Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji

Signature

Website

Official Website

Scientific career

Fields

Aerospace Engineering

Institutions

Defence Research and Development Organisation

Indian Space Research Organisation

Kalam was elected as the 11th President of India in 2002 with the support of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the then-opposition Indian National Congress. Widely referred to as the "People's President",[6] he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

While delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, Kalam collapsed and died from an apparent cardiac arrest on 27 July 2015, aged 83.[7] Thousands, including national-level dignitaries, attended the funeral ceremony held in his hometown of Rameswaram, where he was buried with full state honours.[8]