Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Biography
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the great philosopher and statesman was the second President and the first Vice-President of India. He was a very prominent scholar and academician. His birthday is observed as Teacher’s Day all over India. Born on 5 September 1888 at Tiruttani in Tamil Nadu.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was Knighted in the year 1931 and since then till the attainment of India’s independence, he was addressed as Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Post-independence, he came to be known as Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
Radhakrishnan was also named as Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford in 1936. He was elected as a Fellow of the All Souls College. In 1946, Radhakrishnan was elected to the Constituent Assembly. He served as the ambassador to UNESCO and later to Moscow. He became the Vice President of India in 1952 and in 1962 he became the President of India.
Radhakrishnan was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954. He also received the Order of Merit in 1963 and the Templeton Prize in 1975. He passed away on 17 April 1975.
Facts and Information about Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Born | 05/09/88 |
Religion | Hinduism |
Place of Birth | Thiruttani, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Tamil Nadu, India) |
Nationality | Indian |
Father | Sarvepalli Veeraswami |
Mother | Sitamma |
Died | 17 April 1975 (aged 86) Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India |
Spouse Name | Sivakamu, Lady Radhakrishnan |
Chidren | Five daughters and One son |
Education | “Radhakrishnan was awarded scholarships throughout his academic life. He joined Voorhees College in Vellore but then moved to the Madras Christian College at the age of 17. He graduated from there in 1906 with a Master’s degree in Philosophy, being one of its most distinguished alumni. |
Profession before joining politics | Professor of Philosophy |
Known for contribution as | “Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if 5 September is observed as Teachers’ Day.” |
Political Career | British Raj, Indian independence movement and Indian Independence |
Awards and honours | “1931: appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1931, although he ceased to use the title “”Sir”” after India attained independence. |
1938: elected Fellow of the British Academy. | |
1954: the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. | |
1954: German “”Order pour le Merite for Arts and Science”” | |
1961: the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. | |
1962: Institution of Teacher’s Day in India, yearly celebrated at 5 September, Radhakrishnan’s birthday, in honour of Radhakrishnan’s believe that “”teachers should be the best minds in the country””. | |
1963: the British Order of Merit. | |
1968: Sahitya Akademi fellowship,The highest honour conferred by the Sahitya Akademi on a writer(he is the first person to get this award) | |
1975: the Templeton Prize in 1975, a few months before his death, for advocating non-aggression and conveying “a universal reality of God that embraced love and wisdom for all people”. He donated the entire amount of the Templeton Prize to Oxford University. | |
1989: institution of the Radhakrishnan Scholarships by Oxford University in the memory of Radhakrishnan. The scholarships were later renamed the “Radhakrishnan Chevening Scholarships”. | |
Political party | Independent |