A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Missile Man of India

Brief Timeline of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam:

1931 - Born to a Tamil Muslim family in the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram on Pamban Island, then in the Madras Presidency and now in the State of Tamil Nadu.
1954 - After completing his education at the Schwartz Higher Secondary School, Ramanathapuram, Kalam went on to attend Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, then affiliated with the University of Madras, from where he graduated in physics
1935 - 1955 : He moved to Madras to study aerospace engineering in Madras Institute of Technology.
1937 1960 : After graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology, Kalam joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist where he started his career by designing a small hovercraft, but remained unconvinced by his choice of a job at DRDO.
1938 1969 : Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) where he was the project director of India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near-earth orbit in July 1980.
19411992 : Kalam started to serve as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of the Defence Research and Development Organisation. It was this time when the the Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted which he played an intensive political and technological role.
2002 - Kalam served as the 11th President of India, succeeding K. R. Narayanan. He won the 2002 presidential election with an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing the 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. His term lasted from 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007.
2012 - Kalam launched a programme for the youth of India called the What Can I Give Movement, with a central theme of defeating corruption.
2015 - Kalam travelled to Shillong to deliver a lecture on "Creating a Livable Planet Earth" at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong. While climbing a flight of stairs, he experienced some discomfort, but was able to enter the auditorium after a brief rest.At around 6:35 p.m. IST, only five minutes into his lecture, he collapsed.He was rushed to the nearby Bethany Hospital in a critical condition; upon arrival, he lacked a pulse or any other signs of life.Despite being placed in the intensive care unit, Kalam was confirmed dead of a sudden cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m IST.His last words, to his aide Srijan Pal Singh, were reportedly: "Funny guy! Are you doing well?"

Some of his great works:

Development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.

Kalam directed two projects, Project Devil and Project Valiant, which sought to develop ballistic missiles from the technology of the successful SLV programme.

Working jointly with cardiologist soma Raju, the late president developed a cost-effective coronary stent'Kalam-Raju stent' which helped in making healthcare accessible to all.

Played a pivotal organizational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

"If you salute your duty, you no need to salute anybody, but if you pollute your duty, you have to salute everybody."
-- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

“Don't take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.”
-- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

“Don't take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.”
-- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Brief Timeline of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam:

Some of his great works:

If you have time, you should read more about this incredible human being on his Wikipedia Entry.