Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu on 15th October 1931. His father Jainulabdeen was a boat owner and imam of a local mosque, his mother Ashiamma, was a housewife. Even though Kalam’s ancestors were rich, the family had lost most of its fortunes and was poverty-stricken by the time Kalam was born. As a young boy he had to sell newspapers in order to add to his family’s income.
After completing his studies at Schwartz Higher Secondary School, he enrolled at Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli, graduating in science in 1954. He moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology.
Later, he narrowly missed achieving his dream of becoming a fighter pilot. Kalam earned his degree in 1957, and joined the aeronautical development establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organization as a scientist.
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