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Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15th October 1931 in a Tamil Muslim family in Rameswaram. His father, Jainulabdeen Marakayar was a boat owner and imam of a local mosque. He was an honest generous man who possessed innate wisdom and a generosity of spirit. His mother Ashiamma, a housewife fed many people everyday, thus exhibiting profound kindness. Kalam himself was an honest and self-disciplined boy with values like goodness and kindness.

To this day, Abdul Kalam's birthday is celebrated as World Students' Day!

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During the Second World War, the train halt at the Rameswaram station was suspended. As such, the newspapers were bundled and thrown out of a moving train between Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi. Abdul
Kalam helped his cousin, who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram, to catch these bundles, earning him his first wages.

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A loss for Kalam but a gain for our country

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A loss for Kalam but a gain for our country

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Abdul Kalam's greatest dream was to become a fighter pilot. However he failed to get recruited into the Indian Air Force as he scored the 9th position and only 8 slots were available. He once said,“It is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.” Kalam then did his best at his job as the senior scientific assistant at the Directorate of Technical Development and Production.

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Kalam joined Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in 1958.  Later in 1969, he moved to the Indian Space Research organisation where he was project director of the SLV-III which was the first satellite launch vehicle that was both designed and produced in India. Rejoining DRDO in 1982, Kalam planned the program that produced many successful missiles, earning him the title, “Missile Man.”

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APJ Abdul Kalam, India’s most celebrated scientist was the 11th President of India. Kalam's term lasted from 25 July 2002, to 25 July 2007. One of the important things that Kalam did during his presidency was promoting religious tolerance and intercaste dialogue. Another interesting fact is that when he first moved to Rashtrapati Bhawan, he asked all luxurious rooms to be locked up as he didn’t want to use them. He moved to a small room where he kept his bed. He used the same room to work and sleep. Not only this, but he also kept his dining room locked and often had his meals on the floor with the staff who worked with him.

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Abdul Kalam was very fond of kids and loved to spend time with them. However, he was a bachelor his entire life and never had any children of his own. One day when Kalam was interacting with children at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a mediaperson saw him looking happy and content. At this, he asked Kalam whether he regretted never having a child of his own. To which Kalam responded, "All of you are wrong, I have three sons; Prithvi, Agni and BrahMos," which were missiles that he made.

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Civil honours by the government of India

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Civil honours by the government of India

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Abdul Kalam was awarded India’s highest civil honors and many other awards like:

1981: Padma Bhushan – Government of India

1990: Padma Vibhushan – Government of India

1997: Bharat Ratna – Government of India

1997: Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration – Government of India

1998: Veer Savarkar Award – Government of India

2000: SASTRA Ramanujan Prize – Shanmugha Arts,Science,Technology & Research Academy, India

2013: Von Braun Award – National Space Society

A commendable fact is that APJ Abdul Kalam also received honorary doctorates from 48 national and international universities.

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Kalam was an exemplary writer with 12 books and songs and poetry to his credit.
Some of his famous works include:

Wings of Fire, India 2020

Ignited Minds

The Luminous Sparks

Mission India

Inspiring Thoughts and many more.

His autobiography 'Wings of Fire' was first published in English, and has been translated and published in not only 13 national languages including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu,Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, and Gujarati, but also  Chinese and French.

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President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam became the first head of state in India to fly in a fighter aircraft when he flew in a Su-30 in June 2003. He also became the oldest Indian to fly a fighter aircraft after completing his 30-min ride in the rear cockpit of the aircraft at the age of 73.

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APJ Abdul Kalam's love for his work was evident as he always said that he wanted to die working.
Unfortunately, he breathed his last while he was delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management in Shillong on 27th July, 2015, . He experienced some discomfort in his chest while climbing the stairs but he made it to the auditorium.  Five minutes into his speech, he collapsed on the stage. He was rushed to Bethany Hospital, however he was declared dead at 7:45 pm. Even during the last moments of his life, Kalam retained his sense of humour. His final words to his aide Srijan Pal Singh were, "Funny guy! Are you doing well?"