name	Phil Lynott
background	solo_singer
birth name	Philip Parris Lynott
born	August 20, 1949, West Bromwich, West Midlands
died	January 04, 1986, Salisbury, Wiltshire
instrument	Vocals, bass, keyboards, guitar, harmonica, Irish harp, percussion
Years active	1965–85
label	Vertigo, Warner Bros. (US)
genre	Rock, hard rock, pop, heavy metal, folk
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer, poet
associated acts	Thin Lizzy, , Wild Horses, The Greedies, Skid Row, Grand Slam, John Sykes, Midge Ure
notable instruments	Rickenbacker 4001 bass (early)Fender Precision BassFender StratocasterFender Telecaster }}

Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott (; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.

As the leader of the band, Lynott's vocals and bass guitar were a key element in the commercial success of a string of hit songs, notably "Whiskey in the Jar", "The Boys are Back in Town", "Jailbreak" and "Waiting for an Alibi". Lynott also embarked upon a solo career, published two books of poetry, and after Thin Lizzy disbanded, he assembled and fronted the band Grand Slam, of which he was the leader until it folded in 1984. In the period before his death, he had major UK success with Gary Moore with the song “Out in the Fields”, followed by a minor hit "Nineteen".

Early life

Lynott was born in Hallam Hospital (now Sandwell General Hospital) in West Bromwich (then in Staffordshire), England, and christened at St. Edwards Church in Selly Park, Birmingham. His mother, Philomena (or Phyllis) Lynott (b. 22 October 1930), is Irish, and his father was Cecil Parris, an Afro-Guyanese. Some news and fan-site sources said that he was an Afro-Brazilian, but in an August 2009 interview Parris's wife said that he was from Georgetown, British Guiana. This was confirmed by Philomena Lynott in July 2010. Lynott's mother met Parris in Birmingham in 1948 and they saw each other for a few months, until Parris was transferred to London. Shortly afterwards, Philomena found she was pregnant and, after Philip was born, she moved with her baby to a home for unmarried mothers in Selly Oak, Birmingham. When Parris learned of Philip's birth, he returned to Birmingham and arranged accommodation for Philomena and Philip in the Blackheath area of the city. Her relationship with Parris lasted two more years although he was still working in London and they did not live together. Philomena subsequently moved to Manchester but stayed in touch with Parris and, although she turned down a marriage proposal from him, he agreed to pay towards his son's support.

Parris's wife stated in 2009 that Philomena also had a daughter and a second son with Parris, both of whom were given up for adoption. Philomena finally spoke of these children in July 2010, nearly twenty-five years after Philip's death, when the ''Irish Mail on Sunday'' and ''Irish Daily Mail'' ran a twelve page interview with her over three days. She revealed that her three children all had different fathers, and that her daughter was white. She had met her now-grown children, but they had never met their brother Philip. He knew he had a sister, but never knew he had a brother. Lynott did not see his father again until the late 1970s.

When he was four years old, Philip went to live with his grandmother, Sarah Lynott, in Crumlin, Dublin; his mother stayed in Manchester.

Music career

In the mid 1960s, Lynott began singing in his first band, the Black Eagles. Around this time, he befriended Brian Downey, who was later persuaded to join the band from the 'Liffey Beats'. Before long the Black Eagles broke up and Lynott joined 'Kama Sutra' before singing in Skid Row (not to be confused with an American band of the same name), a band that featured guitarist Gary Moore, bassist Brendan 'Brush' Shiels and drummer Noel Bridgeman. Lynott was let go by Skid Row following a temporary absence to have his tonsils removed. Shiels gave him a bass guitar he had bought from former musician Robert Ballagh and some lessons to help him on his way. Lynott and Downey quickly put together a new band called 'Orphanage', with guitarist Joe Staunton and bassist Pat Quigley. At the end of 2006 a number of Skid Row and Orphanage demo tapes featuring Phil Lynott were discovered. These were his earliest recordings and had been presumed lost for decades.

In 1969, Lynott and Downey quit Orphanage to form Thin Lizzy with guitarist Eric Bell and keyboard player Eric Wrixon (both ex-Them, but from different line-ups). Lynott was the main songwriter for Thin Lizzy, as well as the lead singer and bassist. Their first top ten hit was in 1973, with a rock version of the traditional Irish song "Whiskey in the Jar", featuring a cover by Irish artist and friend, Jim Fitzpatrick. The release of ''Jailbreak'' in 1976 made Lynott and Thin Lizzy international superstars on the strength of the album's biggest hit, "The Boys are Back in Town". The song reached the top 10 in the UK, Ireland and Canada, and peaked at #12 in the US.

Having finally achieved mainstream success, Thin Lizzy embarked on several consecutive world tours. The band continued on ''Jailbreak'''s success with the release of a string of hit albums, including ''Bad Reputation'' and ''Black Rose: A Rock Legend'' and remained a very popular act in Europe and North America in spite of various personnel changes.

In 1978, he was featured in ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', singing and speaking the role of Parson Nathaniel. In 1979, under the name "The Greedies" (originally "The Greedy Bastards", but edited for public politeness), he recorded a Christmas single, "A Merry Jingle", featuring other members of Thin Lizzy as well as Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols. The previous year he had performed alongside Jones and Cook on Johnny Thunders' solo album "So Alone".

In 1980, though Thin Lizzy were still enjoying considerable success, Phil Lynott launched a solo career with the album, ''Solo in Soho'': this was a Top 30 UK album and yielded two hit singles that year, "Dear Miss Lonelyhearts" and "King's Call". The latter was a tribute to Elvis Presley, and featured Mark Knopfler on guitar. His second solo venture, ''The Philip Lynott Album'' was a chart flop, despite the presence of the single "Old Town". The song "Yellow Pearl" (1982), was a #14 hit in the UK and became the theme tune to ''Top Of The Pops''.

In 1983, Thin Lizzy disbanded. Later that year, Lynott recorded a rock'n'roll medley single, "We Are The Boys (Who Make All The Noise)" with Roy Wood, Chas Hodges, and John Coghlan. Phil regularly collaborated with former bandmate blues/rock guitarist Gary Moore on a number of tracks including the singles "Out in the Fields" (a No. 5 UK hit in 1985), his highest-charting single ever, "Parisienne Walkways" (a UK no. 8 hit in 1978), "Back On The Streets" and "Spanish Guitar" in 1979. In 1984, he formed a new band, Grand Slam, with Doish Nagle, Laurence Archer, Robbie Brennan, and Mark Stanway.

Sometime around 1984 or 1985, Lynott co-wrote an unknown number of songs with British R&B artist Junior Giscombe. The songs were never officially released. Most remain as demos, but one of the songs, "Lady Loves to Dance", was mastered and nearly released before being pulled by the record company.

His last single, "Nineteen", released a few weeks before his death, was produced by Paul Hardcastle. It bore no relation to the producer's chart-topping single of the same title some months earlier. Throughout December 1985, Lynott had been promoting the track and this included performing live on various television shows. The same month, he gave his final interview in which he promulgated his possible plans for near future; these included more work with Gary Moore and even the possibility of reforming Thin Lizzy, something which he had privately discussed with Scott Gorham previously. He also recorded some material with Archer, Huey Lewis, and members of Lewis's band the News in 1985, which was not released.

Poetry books

Lynott's first book of poetry, "Songs for While I'm Away", was published in 1974. It contained 21 poems which were all lyrics from Thin Lizzy songs, except one titled "A Holy Encounter". Only 1000 copies of the book were printed. In 1977, a second volume was released, titled "Philip". Again, most of the 25 poems were song lyrics, except for "Legend of the Vagabond" and the short piece of prose from the back sleeve of the ''Jailbreak'' album.

In 1997, both books were brought together in a single volume, again titled "Songs for While I'm Away". This compendium edition also featured illustrations by Tim Booth and Thin Lizzy artist Jim Fitzpatrick, and the original introductions by Peter Fallon and John Peel.

Personal life

In 1980, Lynott married Caroline Crowther, the daughter of British comedian Leslie Crowther. They had two children: Sarah (1978), for whom the 1979 song was written, and Cathleen (1980). Lynott also had a son, born in 1968, who had been put up for adoption. In 2003, Macdaragh Lambe learned that Lynott was his biological father, and this was confirmed by Philomena Lynott in a newspaper interview in July 2010.

Death and legacy

Lynott's last years were dogged by drug and alcohol dependency leading to his collapse on Christmas Day 1985, at his home in Kew. After his estranged wife Caroline drove him to a drug clinic at Clouds House in East Knoyle, near Warminster, he was taken to Salisbury Infirmary where he was diagnosed as suffering from septicemia. He died of pneumonia and heart failure due to sepsis in the hospital's intensive care unit on 4 January 1986, at the age of 36.

In 2005, a life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street in Dublin. The ceremony was attended by former band members Gary Moore, Eric Bell, Brian Robertson, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Darren Wharton (keyboards) and by Lynott's mother. The attending Thin Lizzy members paid tribute with a live performance. His grave in St. Fintan's cemetery in Sutton, northeast Dublin, is regularly visited by family, friends and fans.

In April 2007, ''The Rocker: A Portrait of Phil Lynott'' was released on DVD in the UK.

In August 2010, ''Yellow Pearl'' was released. This is a collection of songs from Phil Lynott's solo albums, B-Sides and album tracks. The album comes with rare pictures of Phil Lynott as well as an introduction to the album written by Malcolm Dome.

Discography

''Solo in Soho'' (1980)

''The Philip Lynott Album'' (1982)

''Live In Sweden 1983'' (2001)

''Yellow Pearl'' (2010)

With others

''Parisienne Walkways'' with Gary Moore, MCA Records 1979

''Spanish Guitar'' with Gary Moore, MCA Records 1979

''Out in the Fields'' with Gary Moore, Virgin Records 1985

''Please Don't Leave Me'' with John Sykes, MCA Records 1982

Notable instruments and gear

Rickenbacker 4001 bass (Early years)

Rickenbacker 4000 bass

Fender Precision bass with custom 'mirror' pickguard

Ibanez Roadstar RS900 (Late years)

Danelectro Six String Bass

Dan Armstrong Lucite Bass (Early years)

Fender Stratocaster guitar

Fender Telecaster guitar (Above two seen in promo videos for "Whiskey in the Jar")

See also

Black people in Ireland

List of people on stamps of Ireland

List of drug-related deaths

References

Notes

External links

Category:1949 births Category:1986 deaths Category:Irish rock guitarists Category:People from County Dublin Category:Burials at St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton Category:Drug-related deaths in England Category:Irish bass guitarists Category:Irish male singers Category:Irish people of Guyanese descent Category:Irish pop singers Category:Irish rock singers Category:English-language singers Category:Irish singer-songwriters Category:Black British rock musicians Category:Mercury Records artists Category:People from Moss Side Category:People from West Bromwich Category:Thin Lizzy members Category:Musicians from Dublin (city) Category:Blues rock musicians Category:Warner Bros. Records artists Category:Rock singer-songwriters

an:Phil Lynott ca:Phil Lynott cs:Phil Lynott da:Phil Lynott de:Phil Lynott es:Phil Lynott eu:Phil Lynott fr:Phil Lynott ga:Phil Lynott is:Phil Lynott it:Philip Lynott lb:Phil Lynott nl:Phil Lynott ja:フィル・ライノット no:Phil Lynott pl:Phil Lynott pt:Phil Lynott ro:Phil Lynott ru:Лайнотт, Фил sk:Phil Lynott sr:Фил Лајнот fi:Phil Lynott sv:Phil Lynott uk:Філ Лайнотт

Name	Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
Office	President of India
Primeminister	Atal Bihari VajpayeeManmohan Singh
Vicepresident	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Term start	26 July 2002
Term end	24 July 2007
Predecessor	Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Successor	Pratibha Devisingh Patil
Birth date	October 15, 1931
Birth place	Rameswaram, British India (now Tamil Nadu), India
Website
Party	Independent
Alma mater	St. Joseph's College, TiruchirappalliMadras Institute of Technology
Profession	Professor, Author, scientist Aerospace engineer
Religion	}}

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; born 15 October 1931) usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was the 11th President of India who is also a renowned aerospace engineer. He served as the president between 2002 and 2007. During his term as President, he was popularly known as the ''People's President''. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour in 1997. He has also been a professor (of aerospace engineering) and is the first Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram (IIST).

Before his term as President, he worked as an aerospace engineer with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He is popularly known as the ''Missile Man of India'' for his work on the development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology. Kalam 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. Many scientific experts have however called Kalam a man with no authority over "nuclear physics" but who just carried on the works of Homi J. Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.

He is currently a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management Indore, Chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University (Chennai), JSS University (Mysore), and an adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India.

In May 2011, Kalam launched his mission for the youth of the nation called the ''What Can I Give Movement'' with a central theme to defeat corruption. He also has interests in writing Tamil poetry and in playing the veenai.

Early life and education

Kalam was born on 15 October 1931, at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, the son of Jainulabdeen and Ashimma. He came from a poor background and started working at an early age to supplement his family's income. He was brought up in a multi-religious environment but did follow a religious routine. As a child, he had a discipline of starting the day at 4:00 am following the footsteps of his father to do homework before going to school to attend mathematics classes. After completing school, Kalam distributed papers in order to financially contribute to his father's income. In his school years, he had average grades, but was described as a bright and hardworking student who had a strong desire to learn and who spent hours on his studies, especially mathematics.

After completing his school education at the Rameshwaram Elementary School, Kalam went on to attend Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli where he graduated in physics in 1954. Towards the end, he was not enthusiastic the subject, and would later regret the four years he studied it. He then moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering. While Kalam was working on a senior class project, the Dean was dissatisfied with the lack of progress and threatened the revoking of his scholarship unless the project was finished within the next two days. He worked tirelessly on his project, and met the deadline, impressing the Dean who later said, "It was a test, and under extreme stress, Kalam met a difficult deadline to complete the project".

Career as scientist

After graduating from Madras Institute of Technology (MIT – Chennai) in 1960, Kalam joined Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defense Research and Development Organization as a chief scientist. There, Kalam started his career by designing a small helicopter for the Indian Army, but remained unconvinced with the choice of his job. Kalam was also part of the INCOSPAR committee working under Vikram Sarabhai. In 1969, Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) where he was the project director of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the ''Rohini'' satellite in near earth orbit in July 1980. Joining ISRO was one of Kalam's biggest achievements in life and he is said to have found himself when he started to work on the SLV project. Kalam first started work on an expandable rocket project independently at DRDO in 1965. In 1969, Kalam received the government's approval and expanded the program to include more engineers.

In 1963–64, he visited Nasa's Langley Research Center in Poquoson, Virginia, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and Wallops Flight Facility situated at Eastern Shore of Virginia.

From the 1970s and 1990s, Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar SLV and SLV-III project which proved to be a success. In 1974, Kalam was shifted to the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), a subsidiary of DRDO. Kalam was invited by Raja Ramanna to witness the country's first nuclear test, Smiling Buddha as the representative of TBRL, even though he had not participated in developing or even taken part in the test site preparations or weapon designing. In the 1970s, a landmark was passed when ISRO first launched into space the locally built ''Rohini-1'', using the SLV rocket. In the 1970s, Kalam also directed ''Project Devil'' and ''Project Valiant'' – which sought to develop ballistic missiles from the technology of Kalam's successful SLV programme. Despite the disapproval of Union Cabinet, Premier Indira Gandhi allotted secret funds for these aerospace projects through her discretionary powers under Kalam's directorship. Kalam played an integral role convincing the Union Cabinet to conceal the true nature of these classified aerospace projects.

His research and educational leadership brought him great laurels and prestige in 1980s, which prompted the government to initiate an advanced missile program under his directorship. As Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (I.G.M.D.P), he played a major part in developing many missiles in India including Agni and Prithvi, although the projects have been criticised for mismanagement and cost and time overruns. He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999. The ''Pokhran-II'' nuclear tests were conducted during this period where he played an intensive political and technological role. Kalam served as the Chief Project Coordinator, along with R. Chidambaram during the testing phase. Photos and snapshots of him taken by the media elevated Kalam as the country's top nuclear scientist although Kalam was not directly involved with the nuclear program at the time.

In the year 1998, with cardiologist Dr.SomaRaju, Kalam developed a low cost Coronary stent. It was named as "Kalam-Raju Stent" honouring them. In 2012, the duo, designed a rugged tablet PC for health care in rural areas. It is named as "Kalam-Raju Tablet".

Presidency

}} Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President of India, succeeding K. R. Narayanan. He won the 2002 presidential election with an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. He served from 25 July 2002 to 24 July 2007.

On 10 June 2002, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which was in power at the time expressed to the leader of opposition, Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi that they would propose Kalam for the post of President. The Samajwadi Party and the Nationalist Congress Party backed the his candidacy. After the Samajwadi Party announced its support for him, the then president K. R. Narayanan chose not to seek a second term in office and hence left the field clear for Kalam to become the 11th President of the country.

On 18 June, Kalam filed his nomination papers in Parliament of India, accompanied by Vajpayee and his senior Cabinet colleagues.

The polling for the presidential election began on 15 July 2002 in the Parliament and state assemblies with media claiming that the election was a one-sided affair and Kalam's victory a foregone conclusion. The counting was held on 18 July. Kalam won the presidential election in a highly one-sided contest. He became the 11th president of the Republic of India. He moved into the Rashtrapati Bhavan after he was sworn in on 25 July. Kalam was the first President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. He was also the first scientist and first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan.

At the end of his term, on 20 June 2007, Kalam's expressed his willingness to consider a second term in office provided there was certainty about his victory in the 2007 presidential election. However, two days later, he decided not to contest the Presidential election again stating that he didn't want Rashtrapati Bhavan to become involved in any political process. He did not have the support of the Left parties, BJP ally Shiv Sena and UPA constituents to receive a renewed mandate. During his term as President, he was affectionately known as the ''People's President''. On his words, signing the Office of Profit Bill was the toughest decision he had taken during his tenure.

}} Nearing the term expiry of the 12th President Pratibha Patil, who's tenure ends on 24 July 2012, media reports in April claimed that Kalam was likely to be nominated for his second term. After the reports, social networking sites were in buzz with users extended their support with activity to mobilise support for him. BJP potentially backed his nomination, saying that the party will lend their support if Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress proposes his name for the 2012 presidential election.

Criticisms and controversies

The controversy that surrounds Kalam's role as a nuclear scientist, is the lack of reliable and factual reporting of the yield of ''Pokhran-II'' tests. The director of the site test, K. Santhanam, publicly admitted that the thermonuclear bomb was a "fizzle" test, criticising Kalam for issuing the wrong report. However, Kalam dismissed the claims, and R. Chidambaram, a key associated with ''Pokhran-II'', had also described these claims as incorrect. In spite of his leading role in the development of Indian nuclear programme, Kalam has received criticism from many of his peers who claimed that Kalam had "no authority" over nuclear science. Homi Sethna, a chemical engineer criticised Kalam claiming that Kalam had no background in publishing articles in nuclear science, even in nuclear physics. Sethna maintained that Kalam received his doctorate in aerospace engineering which is a completely different discipline from nuclear engineering, and what various universities awarded him for his achievements had nothing to do with nuclear physics. Sethna, in his last interview, maintained that in the 1950s, Kalam had failed advanced physics courses during his college life, and quoted "What does he know (about [nuclear] physics)....?", on national television. Others felt that Kalam had never worked in any of the Indian nuclear power plants and had no role in developing the nuclear weapon which was completed under Raja Ramanna. Kalam worked as an aerospace engineer in a SLV project in the 1970s and from the 1980s onwards as a project director before he was shifted to Defence Research and Development Organisation, Sethna concluded.

In 2008, Indian media questioned his claims about his personal contributions to missile inventions while working in a classified missile programme. Kalam had taken credit of inventing the Agni, Prithvi, and Aakash missile system. All of these were developed, researched and designed by other scientists whereas Kalam was involved in getting the funds and other logistic tasks. As a director of DRDO, a lot of credit had gone to Kalam. R. N. Agarwal, former director, Advanced System Laboratory and former Program Director of Agni missile was considered to be the real architect behind the successful design of Agni Missile. In his own biography, Kalam credited the development of "Agni" to Dr Ram Narayan Agarwal, an alumnus of MIT. For the Prithvi missile project, he named Col VJ Sundaram as the brain behind this project and for the Trishul missile, he gave credit to Cmdr SR Mohan. In 2006, senior media correspondent Praful Bidwai, in the ''The Daily Star'', wrote that two aerospace projects, Project Valiant and Project Devil, which were authorised by former Premier Indira Gandhi under the directorship of Abdul Kalam, resulted in "total failure". In the 1980s, these projects were ultimately cancelled by the government under pressure by the Indian Army.

Kalam was also criticised by civil groups over his stand on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, where he supported setting up of the nuclear power plant and never spoke with the local people.

;Frisking by American security authorities Abdul Kalam was frisked at New Yorks JFK Airport, while boarding a plane in New York on 29 September 2011 as a part of "private screening" as he does not come under the category of dignitaries exempt from security screening procedures under stringent American guidelines. However, he was frisked again after boarding the Air India aircraft with US security officials came and asked for his jacket and shoes, claiming that these items were not checked according to prescribed procedure during the "private screening". The incident was not reported until 13 November that year. India threatened retaliatory action as there was a "general sense of outrage" around the country. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs protested over this incident, and a statement by the ministry said that the US Government had written a letter to Kalam, expressing its deep regret for the inconvenience.

Kalam was previously frisked by the ground staff of the Continental Airlines at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi in July 2009 and was treated like an ordinary passenger, despite the fact that he is on the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security's list of people exempted from security screening in India.

;Rumor about Kalam death In 2011, Kalam was a victim of a false rumor that he had died. The rumor spread across many social networking sites with Kalam trending on Twitter and was also the top most searched keyword on Google India. However, it was Kalam's educational advisor, Hafiz Saleh Muhammad Alladin, who had lost his life.

Future India: 2020

In his book ''India 2020'', Kalam strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and a developed nation by the year 2020. He regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.

It has been reported that there is a considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books authored by him.

Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology. He has proposed a research program for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of Open Source over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of free software on a large scale will bring the benefits of information technology to more people.

Popular culture

He was nominated for the MTV Youth Icon of the Year award in 2003 and in 2006. In the 2011 Hindi film ''I Am Kalam'', Kalam is portrayed as an extremely positive influence to a poor but bright Rajasthani boy named Chhotu, who renames himself Kalam in honour of his idol.

Awards and honours

He has received honorary doctorates from 40 universities. The Government of India has honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1981 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 for his work with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Government. In 1997, Kalam received India's highest civilian honour, the prestigious Bharat Ratna for his immense and valuable contribution to the scientific research and modernisation of defence technology. He was the second scientist after the late Homi Bhabha to receive this award.

! Year of award or honor !! Name of award or honor !! Awarding organization
2011	IEEE Honorary Membership	IEEE
2010	Doctor of Engineering	University of Waterloo
2009	Hoover Medal	ASME Foundation, USA
2009	International von Kármán Wings Award	California Institute of Technology, U.S.A
2008	Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa)	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
2007	King Charles II Medal	Royal Society, U.K
2007	Honorary Doctorate of Science	University of Wolverhampton, U.K
2000	Ramanujan Award	Alwars Research Centre, Chennai
1998	Veer Savarkar Award	Government of India
1997	Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration	Government of India
1997	Bharat Ratna	Government of India
1990	Padma Vibhushan	Government of India
1981	Padma Bhushan	Government of India

Books and documentaries

;Kalam's writings

''Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam'' by A. P. J Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari; by K. Bhushan, G. Katyal; A. P. J. Pub. Corp, 2002.

''Scientist to President'' by Abdul A. P. J. Kalam; Gyan Publishing House, 2003.

''Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; Penguin Books, 2003.

''India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Y.S. Rajan; Penguin Books India, 2003.

''India-my-dream'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; Excel Books, 2004.

''Envisioning an Empowered Nation: Technology for Societal Transformation'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; TATA McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd, 2004.

''Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Arun K Tiwari; Ocean Books, 2005.

''The Life Tree'' : Poems by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Paintings by Manav Gupta; Penguin Books India, 2005.

''Children Ask Kalam'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; Pearson Education, ISBN 81-7758-245-3

''Indomitable Spirit'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, 2006

''The Scientific Indian: A Twenty-first Century Guide to the World around Us'' by APJ Abdul Kalam and YS Rajan

''My Journey'' by APJ Abdul Kalam, Published By: V Suryanarayana Murthy

''Target 3 Billion PURA: Innovative Solutions towards Sustainable Development'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh ISBN 978-0-14-341730-9

''Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Roddam Narasimha; Indian Academy of Sciences 1988 ''The Luminous Sparks'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; Punya Publishing Pvt Ltd. ''Mission India'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Paintings by Manav Gupta; Penguin Books 2005 ''Inspiring Thoughts'' by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam ;Biographies

''Eternal Quest: Life and Times of Dr. Kalam'' by S. Chandra; Pentagon Publishers, 2002.

''President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam'' by R. K. Pruthi; Anmol Publications, 2002.

''A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: The Visionary of India'' by K. Bhushan, G. Katyal; A.P.H. Pub. Corp, 2002.

''A Little Dream'' (documentary film) by P. Dhanapal; Minveli Media Works Private Limited, 2008.

''The Kalam Effect: My Years with the President'' by P.M. Nair; Harper Collins, 2008.

''My Days With Mahatma Abdul Kalam'' by Fr.A.K. George; ISBN No:978-8190452953; Publisher: Novel Corporation, 2009.

References

External links

Official website

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: Former President of India

Profile of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Dr.Abdul Kalaam – The People's President

Category:1931 births Category:Defence Research and Development Organisation Category:Indian aerospace engineers Category:Indian Muslims Category:Indian scientists Category:Indian Space Research Organisation people Category:Indian Tamil people Category:Living people Category:Madras Institute of Technology alumni Category:People from Ramanathapuram district Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Presidents of India Category:Tamil Nadu politicians Category:Indian Sunni Muslims Category:Tamil engineers Category:Tamil poets

ar:أبو بكر زين العابدين عبد الكلام bn:আবুল পাকির জয়নুল-আবেদিন আবদুল কালাম be:Абдул Калам bg:Абдул Калам cs:Abdul Kalám de:A. P. J. Abdul Kalam dv:އޭ. ޕީ. ޖޭ. ޢަބްދުލްކަލާމް et:Abdul Kalam el:Αμπντούλ Καλάμ es:Abdul Kalam eo:Abdul Kalam fr:Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam gl:Abdul Kalam gu:અબ્દુલ કલામ hi:अब्दुल कलाम id:Abdul Kalam it:Abdul Kalam he:עבדול קאלאם ka:აბდულ ქალამი kn:ಅಬ್ದುಲ್ ಕಲಾಮ್ lt:Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ml:എ.പി.ജെ. അബ്ദുൽ കലാം mr:ए.पी.जे. अब्दुल कलाम nl:Abdul Kalam ne:अब्दुल कलाम ja:アブドゥル・カラーム no:Abdul Kalam pnb:عبدالکلام ps:عبدالکلام pl:A.P.J. Abdul Kalam pt:A. P. J. Abdul Kalam ru:Калам, Абдул sa:अब्दुल् कलाम् simple:Abdul Kalam sk:Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam fi:A. P. J. Abdul Kalam sv:Abdul Kalam ta:ஆ. ப. ஜெ. அப்துல் கலாம் te:ఏ.పి.జె. అబ్దుల్ కలామ్ th:อับดุล กลาม tr:Abdul Kalam uk:Абдул Калам ur:عبد الکلام yo:A. P. J. Abdul Kalam zh:阿卜杜尔·卡拉姆