APJ Abdul Kalam

Avul Pakir Jainelabdeen Abdul Kalam was the 11th President of the country from 2002 and 2007 and is also popularly known as the 'Missile Man' of India. Born in a poor family in Tamil Nadu's Rameswaram, Kalam went on to study physics and aerospace engineering and worked with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He also played a role in 1998 Pokhran-II tests under leadership of Atar Bihar Vajpayee. Abdul Kalam was felicitated with a Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and then received India's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna in 1997. He is also known for a humble and respectful attitude towards people and was called the 'People's President'. After the end of his tenure as President of the country, he went back to delivering lectures to students and writing. He died after suffering cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture at Indian Institute of Management Shillong on July, 27, 2015. He was buried in his hometown Rameswaram with full state honours.