A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was elected 11th President of India

 Today in history | July 15, 2002

Kalam served as India's president from 2002-07 and was the first one who was a bachelor and a vegetarian.

He was an all-in-one personality who was a scientist, a teacher, a writer, a visionary, an aerospace engineer, and people’s President.

Popularly known as 'Missile Man of India' for his contributions towards development of India's missiles especially Agni and Prithvi. 

He was associated with India's space programs and played pivotal role in 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests.

Kalam believed in 'simple living and high thinking'. He was very popular among kids and youth as he often interacted with them — inspiring them to think big in life.

To support his family of seven, Kalam started selling newspapers after his school hours from a very young age.

He authored around 25 books including 'India 2020: Vision for the new millenium' and 'Mission India: A Vision of Indian Youth'

His autobiography 'Wings of Fire: An Autobiography' was translated into 13 languages including French and Chinese. There are six biographies on his life.

He received honorary doctorates from 48 universities and institutions from India and overseas.

Kalam was awarded with Padma Bhushan (1981), Padma Vibhushan (1990) and India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997).

The United Nations (UN) has declared his birthday, October 15, as World Student’s Day.

Switzerland government also declared May 16 as 'Science day' in honour of his visit to their country.

On July 27, 2015, he died due to a cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Shillong.