A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who was president of India from 2002 to 2007. Born in Rameswaram in Southern India, Kalam spent four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Indian Space Research Organisation and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He was known as the "Missile Man of India" for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998.
He was elected as the president of India in 2002 and was widely referred to as the "People's President". He engaged in teaching, writing and public service after his presidency.
Kalam was a recipient of several awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.
National honours Ribbon Decoration Country Date Location Presenter Note Bharat RatnaIndia1 March 1998 (announced 25 November 1997)New DelhiPresidentK. R. NarayananThe highest civilian honour of India.Padma Vibhushan24 March 1990 (announced 26 January 1990)PresidentRamaswamy VenkataramanThe second-highest civilian honour of India. Padma Bhushan28 March 1981 (announced 26 January 1981)PresidentNeelam Sanjiva ReddyThe third-highest civilian honour of India.
Foreign honours Ribbon Decoration Country Date Location Presenter Note Congressional Medal of Achivement Philippines6 February 2006ManilaSpeakerJose de Venecia Jr.The highest parliamentary honour of Philippines.Gold Medal of the Hellenic Parliament Greece27 April 2007AthensSpeakerAnna Benaki-PsaroudaThe highest parliamentary honour of Greece.
Key to the City Year Honour City Country Presenter 2007Gold Medal of Merit of the City of AthensAthensGreeceMayorNikitas Kaklamanis
Scholastic Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships Year Fellowship Institution Country 1994Distinguished fellowInstitute of DirectorsIndia1995Honorary fellowNational Academy of Medical Sciences2007ChancellorIndian Institute of Space Science and Technology2011Honorary memberInstitute of Electrical and Electronics EngineersUnited States2014Honorary professorPeking UniversityChina
Honorary degrees Year Degree University Country 2007Doctor of Science and TechnologyCarnegie Mellon UniversityUnited StatesDoctor of ScienceUniversity of WolverhamptonUnited Kingdom2008Aligarh Muslim UniversityIndiaUniversiti Sains MalaysiaMalaysiaDoctor of EngineeringNanyang Technological UniversitySingapore2009honorary DoctorateOakland UniversityUnited States2010Doctor of EngineeringUniversity of WaterlooCanada2012Doctor of LawSimon Fraser University2014Doctor of ScienceUniversity of EdinburghUnited Kingdom
Other awards Year Award Country/Organisation 1996H. K. Firodia AwardH. K. Firodia Foundation1997Indira Gandhi Award for National IntegrationIndian National Congress1998Swatantryaveer Savarkar AwardGovernment of Maharashtra2000Ramanujan AwardAlvars Research Centre2007King Charles II MedalRoyal Society2009Hoover MedalAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers2009International von Kármán Wings AwardCalifornia Institute of Technology2013Von Braun AwardNational Space Society
Addresses to foreign legislatures Country Legislature Date Ref.SudanNational Assembly of Sudan21 October 2003Pan-African Parliament16 September 2004PhilippinesCongress of the Philippines6 February 2006MauritiusNational Assembly of Mauritius13 March 2006European UnionEuropean Parliament25 April 2007Indian president speaks of three "Indo-European missions" to promote global peace and prosperity European Parliament. 25 April 2007.
Recognition Year RecognitionOrganisation 2004Wax figureMadame Tussauds2009 The 500 Most Influential Muslims Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre20102011 20122nd Greatest IndianOutlook2013 The 500 Most Influential Muslims Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre 201410th Most Admired Person in the World YouGov 2015The 500 Most Influential MuslimsRoyal Islamic Strategic Studies CentrePostage stampIndia Post
Other recognitions Kalam's birthday, 15 October, is celebrated as World Students' Day in India. In 2015, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced that Kalam's birthday, 15 October, would be observed as "Youth Renaissance Day".
Eponyms
See also List of Padma Vibhushan award recipients List of Padma Bhushan award recipients (1980–1989)
References