Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an eminent Indian scientist and politician who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born on October 15, 1931, in Rameswaram, a town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and passed away on July 27, 2015.

Kalam was an aerospace engineer who played a pivotal role in the development of India's ballistic missile and space programs. He joined the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the 1960s, where he made significant contributions to the country's missile development efforts, including the successful development of the Agni and Prithvi missiles.