Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

As a boy in the seaside town of Rameswaram, APJ Abdul Kalam delivered newspapers on his bicycle before school to help his family. He loved gazing at boats and birds and dreamed of flying one day.

He grew up to design India's rockets and missiles, help build our nuclear programme, and, most surprisingly of all, become the President of India. Wherever he went, he talked to schoolchildren about dreaming big.

'Dream, dream, dream,' he liked to say, 'dreams transform into thoughts, and thoughts result in action.'

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born in 1931 in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, in a modest Muslim family. He trained as an aerospace engineer and joined the Indian space programme, where he led the team that developed the SLV-3, India's first satellite launch vehicle.

In 1980 the SLV-3 successfully placed the Rohini satellite in orbit.

He then moved to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and led the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, giving India missiles like Agni and Prithvi and earning the nickname 'Missile Man'. As chief scientific advisor, he helped conduct the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998.

From 2002 to 2007 he served as the 11th President of India, and became known as the 'People's President' because he spent so much time meeting students and ordinary citizens. His books, including 'Wings of Fire' and 'India 2020', inspire young readers to this day.

He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1997.