Lesser Known Facts About Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

1. Born on 15 October, 1931, in a Tamil Muslim family to a boat owner, Jainulabudeen, and Ashiamma, a housewife, in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, Kalam's childhood was not easy and privileged.



2. In order to support his poor family, young Kalam used to distribute newspapers after his school hours to add to his father's income.

3. Kalam was a hardworking student too, who enjoyed spending hours on his studies.


4. His favourite subjects were Mathematics and Physics and ultimately, he took up aerospace engineering later in life.


5. His interest and work in aerospace engineering brought him close to India's civilian space program and military missile development efforts.


6. For his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology, Kalam came to be known as Missile Man of India.


7. India owes its development as a nuclear nation to Kalam's organizational and technical support for Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first such tests after a gap of 24 years.

8. At ISRO, He was one of the pioneers of India's first space launch-vehicle program.


9. Kalam was recipient of Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.


10. He was also a recipient of honorary doctorates from 40 universities.


11. A prolific writer, Kalam has authored around 15 books on various subjects ranging from nuclear physics to spiritual experiences.


12. His autobiography Wings of Fire: An Autobiography, first published in English, has been translated into 13 languages including French and Chinese.

Padma Bhusham in 1981
Padma Vibhusham in 1990
Bharat Ratna in 1997
Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1997
Veer Savarkar Award in 1998
Ramanujan Award in 2000
Honorary Doctorate of Science by University of Wolverhampton, UK in 2007

Dr. Abdul Kalam was also an incredible writer and his autobiography, "2020-A vision for the New Millennium" is a self explanary evidence of it.