Autograph of APJ Abdul Kalam ex-President India - signed book Wings of Fire collection

APJ Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He studied physics and aerospace engineering, and spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and was intimately involved in Indias civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in Indias Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

Widely referred to as the "Peoples President", he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, Indias highest civilian honour.