Hello Warriors, Remembering former President of India, Bharat Ratna Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. He was the epitome of intellect, wisdom & simplicity. Fondly called as people’s President & the Missile Man of India, his ideas continue to be an inspiration for all.
Though he was a scientist who made our country proud with his missile defence programme, his favourite job was ‘teaching’. And he always wanted the world to remember him for that and coincidently he died doing what he loved the most. On July 27, 2015, while delivering a lecture at the IIM Shillong, Kalam fell down suffering a stroke, and passed away.
On this occasion of the death anniversary of APJ Abdul Kalam, we bring to you 40 interesting facts about the ‘Missile Man’ of India.
FACT#1. Born on October 15, 1931, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was from a very poor family. His father owned a boat in the name of running the family. He was born on 15 October 1931 in a village in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.
FACT#2. Dr. Kalam was very hardworking from the beginning. From the age of just five, he started selling newspapers to support his family. Abdul Kalam’s full name was ‘Abul Pakkir Zainulabedin Abdul Kalam’.
FACT#3. Dr. Kalam loved both Physics and Mathematics. He used to get up at 4 am to study arithmetic.
FACT#4. Dr. Kalam wanted to become a pilot from the beginning and once he got very close to it. He was 9th in the selection list of the Indian Air Force, while only eight people were to be selected.
FACT#5. In 1969, he moved to ISRO and was made the project director of Satellite Launch Vehicles. The project was successful and India succeeded in sending the Rohini satellite into the Earth’s orbit.
FACT#6. Dr. Kalam Saheb is also known as “Missile Man”. Because he was instrumental in inventing powerful missiles like Agni and Prithvi for India.
FACT#7. Dr. Kalam also had a big hand behind the success of the Pokhran-2 nuclear test.
FACT#8. While Dr. Kalam was conferred with Bharat Ratna, he was also awarded a doctorate from 40 universities.
FACT#9. Inspired by his life, a Bollywood movie called “I AM Kalam” was also made.
FACT#10. Dr. Kalam loved children very much and he used to try to pacify their curiosity. Even before his death, he was doing the same thing – he was addressing the students in IIM Shillong.
FACT#11. When Dr. Kalam once went to America, he was intercepted by security officials and took him. India strongly opposed this.
FACT#12. When a journalist once asked him how he would like to be remembered – as a scientist, a president, or a teacher? Dr. Kalam said “Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes a person’s character, ability, and future. If people remember me as a good teacher, it would be the greatest honor for me”
FACT#13. When Dr. Kalam went on a Switzerland visit, it was announced to celebrate that day (26 May) as Science Day in his honor.
FACT#14. Dr. Kalam was fond of writing poems in Tamil and playing the veena.
FACT#15. Dr. Kalam was initially non-vegetarian but later became a vegetarian.
FACT#16. Dr. Kalam became the first President who was unmarried and also a scientist.
FACT#17. Dr. Kalam had already been awarded the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna before becoming the President.
FACT#18. On his Twitter account, Dr. Kalam used to follow a total of 38 people, in which there was only one cricketer – VVS Laxman.
FACT#19. Dr. Kalam considered the great scientist Dr. Vikram Sarabhai as his mentor.
FACT#20. Dr. Kalam’s first major project, SLV-3, failed. At that time, he was very unhappy but after learning from his mistakes, he went on to achieve great success.
FACT#21. Dr. Kalam was elected MTV Youth Icon twice, in 2003 and 2006.
FACT#22. Dr. Kalam used to donate his salary as a president. He had formed a trust – Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA), and in this trust, he donated his salary.
FACT#23. Once Dr. Kalam asked on Yahoo, “What should we do to free the world from terrorism? ” So in response, he got 30,000 responses.
FACT#24. Dr. Kalam wanted Rashtrapati Bhavan to be fully powered by solar energy, but during his tenure, this work could not be completed.
FACT#25. Dr. Kalam’s inspiring autobiography, “Wings of Fire” has been translated into 13 languages including French and Chinese.
FACT#26. Dr. Kalam has written at least 15 books on different subjects. They said- “Writing is my love If you love something, you take a lot of time for it. I write for two hours every day, usually starting at midnight, sometimes I start writing at 11 am”
FACT#27. Dr. Kalam was very fond of the sea.
FACT#28. As president, he found it extremely difficult to confirm the death penalty awarded by the courts.
FACT#29. Dr. Kalam was a skilled leader. He blamed himself for any project failure but gave credit to the entire team for success.
FACT#30. From 1992 to 1999, Dr. Kalam was also the Defense Advisor to the Defense Minister. During this time, the Vajpayee government also conducted nuclear tests for the second time in Pokhran and India joined the nuclear weapon producing countries.
FACT#31. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was awarded the country’s highest civilian honor, Padma Bhushan in 1981 and then the Padma Vibhushan in 1990, and the Bharat Ratna in 1997 by the Government of India.
FACT#32. Dr. Kalam was a Muslim by religion but did not believe in any religion at heart. He read both the Quran and the Bhagavad Gita.
FACT#33. Dr. Kalam completed his early education at Rameswaram, graduated from St. Joseph’s College, and received an aeronautical engineering degree from the Madras Institute of Technology.
FACT#34. On the occasion of the second death anniversary of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated his museum built in Tamil Nadu near Pekarambu Rameswaram. Rockets and missiles have also been displayed in this museum in a very unique way. Through this article, we will study interesting facts related to Kalam Memorial.
FACT#35. Dr. Kalam once said that books are his dear friend. And there is a library in his house, which contains thousands of books. Those books are his biggest asset.
FACT#36. During an interview, Dr. Kalam had said that music and dance is an instrument through which we can ensure global peace. Art has the power to bring the whole world together. Dr. Kalam is very fond of music.
FACT#37. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a scientist and was also a psychologist. He also knew to read face. They used to read anyone’s face and tell about him.
FACT#38. Dr. Kalam took over as President from KR Narayanan and was the most popular President of the country from 2002 to 2007. In the presidential election, he was pitted against Laxmi Sehgal, the revolutionary leader of the Indian freedom struggle and he won this unilateral contest. He had the support of all political parties in the presidential election.
FACT#39. Dr. Kalam did not know how to ride a bike.
FACT#40. Dr. Kalam was unmarried but once told a journalist that he had three children. Earth, Agni, and Brahmos.
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ALSO READ:
- 10 Lessons Every Aspirant Should Learn From Life Of APJ Abdul Kalam
- Top 7 Quotes From APJ Abdul Kalam For Defence Aspirants
Remembering Former President, Supreme commander in chief and Bharath Ratna Sri APJ Abdul Kalam, the ‘missile man’ who came to be known as ‘People’s President’ on his death anniversary.
— SSBCrackExams (@SSBCrackExams) July 27, 2021
“If you want to shine like a sun. First, burn like a sun” 🔥🇮🇳❤️⚔️ pic.twitter.com/T3mUMXeVHb
