Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist and politician who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born in 1931 in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology and Anna University. Kalam made significant contributions to India's space program and was responsible for the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He received numerous prestigious awards and honors for his service, including India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna.