profession nationality signature image article_title name alma_mater
professor author aerospace scientist indian abdul_kalam_autograph . jpg abdulkalam.jpg a. p. j. abdul kalam
 a. p. j. abdul kalam st. technology joseph 's college , tiruchirappalli madras institute of
a. p. j. abdul kalam

avul pakir jainulabdeen `` a. p. j. '' abdul kalam -lrb- ; 15 october 1931 -- 27 july 2015 -rrb- was the 11th president of india from 2002 to 2007 .
a career scientist turned reluctant politician , kalam was born and raised in rameswaram , tamil nadu , and studied physics and aerospace engineering .
he spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator , mainly at the defence research and development organisation -lrb- drdo -rrb- and indian space research organisation -lrb- isro -rrb- and was intimately involved in india 's civilian space program and military missile development efforts .
he thus came to be known as the `` missile man of india '' for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology .
he also played a pivotal organizational , technical , and political role in india 's `` pokhran-ii '' nuclear tests in 1998 , the first since the original nuclear test by india in 1974 .
kalam was elected as the 11th president of india in 2002 with the support of both the ruling bharatiya janata party and the then-opposition indian national congress .
widely referred to as the `` people 's president , `` he returned to his civilian life of education , writing and public service after a single term .
he was a recipient of several prestigious awards , including the bharat ratna , india 's highest civilian honour .
while delivering a lecture at the indian institute of management shillong , kalam collapsed and died from an apparent cardiac arrest on 27 july 2015 , aged 83 .
his death was mourned across the nation with thousands including national-level dignitaries attending the funeral ceremony held in his hometown of rameshwaram , where he was buried with full state honours .
