By Indira Kasaeva
Published on July 28, 2015

India’s 11^th president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam died of a cardiac arrest on Monday evening while delivering a lecture at Indian Institute of Management.

After being rushed to the hospital doctors confirmed the reason of death as a cardiac arrest.

A renowned figure in the history of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was named as India’s Missile Man for his efforts in military missile development and the development of the country’s nuclear program.

Born in 1931, on an island off Tamil Nadu, Kalam spent forty years of his life working as a scientist and science administrator before becoming the president of India in 2002. Most of his scientific work was done at the Indian Space Research Organization and Defence Research and Development Organization. Kalam made great contributions to the development of the civilian space program and played a major role in the Indian nuclear tests of 1998.

Author of several books and titleholder of numerous awards, among which is Bharat Ratna, India’s top civil honour awarded by the government, Kalam was an inspirational figure to millions of people.