Personalities
Saints, scholars, poets, scientists, reformers, freedom fighters, travellers and commanders who shaped the history of Bharat. Rulers are listed on each polity's page.
6th century BCE · 3
Vardhamana Mahavira
Saint / religious leader · c. 599–527 BCE
24th Tirthankara of Jainism
Gautama Buddha
Saint / religious leader · c. 563–483 BCE
Founder of Buddhism
Makkhali Gosala
Philosopher · active c. 500 BCE
Founder of the Ajivika sect
5th century BCE · 1
4th century BCE · 5
Seleucus I Nicator
Invader / conqueror · c. 358–281 BCE
Hellenistic king who ceded the northwest to Chandragupta Maurya
Alexander the Great
Invader / conqueror · 356–323 BCE
Macedonian king who invaded the northwest in 326 BCE
Porus
General / commander · active c. 326 BCE
King who fought Alexander at the Hydaspes
Chanakya (Kautilya)
Scholar / historian · active c. 320 BCE
Author of the Arthashastra and adviser to Chandragupta Maurya
Megasthenes
Traveller / envoy · active c. 300 BCE
Greek envoy to Pataliputra who wrote the Indica
3rd century BCE · 2
Mahinda (Thera)
Saint / religious leader · active c. 250 BCE
Ashoka's son who took Buddhism to Sri Lanka
Sanghamitta
Saint / religious leader · active c. 240 BCE
Brought a sapling of the Bodhi tree to Sri Lanka
2nd century BCE · 2
Nagasena
Saint / religious leader · active c. 150 BCE
Buddhist monk whose dialogue with King Menander forms the Milindapanha
Patanjali
Scholar / historian · active c. 150 BCE
Grammarian who wrote the Mahabhashya on Panini
1st century CE · 1
2nd century CE · 2
Charaka
Scientist / mathematician · active c. 150 CE
Author of the Charaka Samhita on Ayurvedic medicine
Nagarjuna
Philosopher · active c. 200 CE
Founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy
4th century CE · 4
Harisena
Poet / writer · active c. 350 CE
Composer of Samudragupta's Prayaga (Allahabad) pillar inscription
Faxian
Traveller / envoy · c. 337 CE – c. 422 CE
Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who travelled through Gupta India
Kalidasa
Poet / writer · active c. 400 CE
Sanskrit poet-dramatist of Abhijnanashakuntalam and Meghaduta
Vishakhadatta
Poet / writer · active c. 400 CE
Author of the political drama Mudrarakshasa
5th century CE · 3
Buddhaghosa
Scholar / historian · active c. 430 CE
Author of the Visuddhimagga
Bodhidharma
Saint / religious leader · active c. 500 CE
Indian monk credited with founding Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China
Aryabhata
Scientist / mathematician · c. 476 CE – c. 550 CE
Mathematician-astronomer who wrote the Aryabhatiya
6th century CE · 1
7th century CE · 7
Appar (Tirunavukkarasar)
Saint / religious leader · active c. 620 CE
Nayanar saint who converted Mahendravarman I to Shaivism
Brahmagupta
Scientist / mathematician · c. 598 CE – c. 668 CE
Mathematician who gave rules for zero in the Brahmasphutasiddhanta
Banabhatta
Poet / writer · active c. 630 CE
Author of the Harshacharita and Kadambari
Xuanzang
Traveller / envoy · c. 602 CE – c. 664 CE
Chinese pilgrim who studied at Nalanda and visited Harsha's court
Ravikirti
Poet / writer · active c. 634 CE
Composer of the Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II
Yijing (I-tsing)
Traveller / envoy · 635 CE – 713 CE
Chinese monk who studied at Nalanda in the 670s-680s
Kumarila Bhatta
Philosopher · active c. 700 CE
Leading philosopher of the Purva Mimamsa school
8th century CE · 2
Padmasambhava
Saint / religious leader · active c. 770 CE
Guru Rinpoche, who brought Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet and Bhutan
Andal
Saint / religious leader · active c. 800 CE
The only woman among the twelve Alvars; composed the Tiruppavai
9th century CE · 2
Adi Shankaracharya
Philosopher · c. 788 CE – c. 820 CE
Exponent of Advaita Vedanta who founded four mathas
Rajashekhara
Poet / writer · active c. 900 CE
Author of the Karpuramanjari and Kavyamimamsa
10th century CE · 2
Adikavi Pampa
Poet / writer · c. 902 CE – c. 975 CE
Kannada poet of the Vikramarjuna Vijaya
Al-Biruni
Scholar / historian · c. 973 CE – c. 1050
Author of the Kitab al-Hind, a study of India
11th century CE · 3
Atisha Dipankara
Saint / religious leader · 982 CE – 1054
Vikramashila scholar who revived Buddhism in Tibet
Ramanujacharya
Philosopher · c. 1017 – c. 1137
Exponent of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta
Bilhana
Poet / writer · active c. 1080
Author of the Vikramankadevacharita
12th century CE · 10
Hemachandra
Scholar / historian · c. 1088 – c. 1173
Jain polymath at the court of Kumarapala
Sekkizhar
Poet / writer · active c. 1135
Author of the Periya Puranam on the Nayanar saints
Bhaskaracharya (Bhaskara II)
Scientist / mathematician · c. 1114 – c. 1185
Mathematician who wrote the Lilavati
Kalhana
Scholar / historian · active c. 1148
Author of the Rajatarangini, the chronicle of Kashmir
Basavanna
Social reformer · c. 1134 – c. 1196
Lingayat reformer who founded the Anubhava Mantapa
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
Saint / religious leader · c. 1141 – c. 1236
Sufi saint who established the Chishti order in India at Ajmer
Jayadeva
Poet / writer · active c. 1180
Author of the Gita Govinda
Kamban
Poet / writer · active c. 1180
Author of the Tamil Ramavataram (Kamba Ramayanam)
Chand Bardai
Poet / writer · active c. 1190
Court poet credited with the Prithviraj Raso
Chinggis Khan
Invader / conqueror · c. 1162 – c. 1227
Mongol conqueror who reached the Indus in 1221
13th century CE · 8
Minhaj-i-Siraj
Scholar / historian · active c. 1260
Historian who wrote the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
Madhvacharya
Philosopher · c. 1238 – c. 1317
Founder of the Dvaita school of Vedanta
Nizamuddin Auliya
Saint / religious leader · 1238 – 1325
Chishti Sufi saint of Delhi
Araniko
Artist / musician · 1245 – 1306
Newar artist-architect who worked at Kublai Khan's court
Amir Khusrau
Poet / writer · 1253 – 1325
Persian poet-musician called the 'Parrot of India'
Marco Polo
Traveller / envoy · 1254 – 1324
Venetian traveller who described the Pandya coast
Namdev
Saint / religious leader · c. 1270 – c. 1350
Marathi saint of the Varkari tradition
Dnyaneshwar
Saint / religious leader · c. 1275 – c. 1296
Author of the Dnyaneshwari, a Marathi commentary on the Gita
14th century CE · 5
Ziauddin Barani
Scholar / historian · c. 1285 – c. 1357
Historian who wrote the Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi
Ibn Battuta
Traveller / envoy · c. 1304 – c. 1369
Moroccan traveller who served as qadi of Delhi under Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Vidyaranya
Saint / religious leader · active c. 1340
Sage traditionally linked to the founding of Vijayanagara
Lal Ded (Lalleshwari)
Saint / religious leader · c. 1320 – c. 1392
Kashmiri mystic poet of the vakhs
Nund Rishi (Sheikh Nooruddin)
Saint / religious leader · 1377 – 1438
Kashmiri Sufi saint of the Rishi order
15th century CE · 12
Nicolò de' Conti
Traveller / envoy · 1395 – 1469
Venetian merchant who visited Vijayanagara around 1420
Annamacharya
Artist / musician · c. 1408 – c. 1503
Telugu composer of devotional songs to Venkateswara
Mahmud Gawan
Statesman / administrator · 1411 – 1481
Bahmani prime minister who built a great madrasa at Bidar
Abdur Razzaq
Traveller / envoy · 1413 – 1482
Persian envoy who described Vijayanagara under Deva Raya II
Afanasy Nikitin
Traveller / envoy · died c. 1475
Russian merchant who described the Bahmani kingdom
Kabir
Saint / religious leader · c. 1440 – c. 1518
Bhakti poet-saint of Varanasi known for his dohas
Srimanta Sankardev
Saint / religious leader · c. 1449 – c. 1568
Assamese saint who founded Ekasarana Dharma and the sattras
Vasco da Gama
Traveller / envoy · c. 1460 – c. 1524
Portuguese navigator who reached Calicut in 1498
Guru Nanak
Saint / religious leader · 1469 – 1539
Founder of Sikhism and the first Sikh Guru
Guru Ravidas
Saint / religious leader · active c. 1500
Bhakti saint whose hymns appear in the Guru Granth Sahib
Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Poet / writer · c. 1477 – c. 1542
Author of the Awadhi epic Padmavat
Surdas
Poet / writer · c. 1478 – c. 1583
Blind Bhakti poet of the Sursagar
16th century CE · 22
Purandara Dasa
Artist / musician · c. 1484 – c. 1564
Called the 'father of Carnatic music'
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Saint / religious leader · 1486 – 1534
Bhakti saint of Bengal who inspired Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Allasani Peddana
Poet / writer · active c. 1520
Called 'Andhra Kavita Pitamaha', chief of the Ashtadiggajas
Domingo Paes
Traveller / envoy · active c. 1520
Portuguese traveller who described Krishnadevaraya's capital
Tenali Ramakrishna
Poet / writer · active c. 1520
Telugu poet famed for his wit at Krishnadevaraya's court
Mirabai
Saint / religious leader · c. 1498 – c. 1547
Rajput princess and Bhakti poet devoted to Krishna
Tansen
Artist / musician · c. 1500 – c. 1589
Musician at Akbar's court and one of the Navaratnas
Bairam Khan
General / commander · 1501 – 1561
Regent and guardian of the young Akbar
Hemu (Hemchandra Vikramaditya)
General / commander · c. 1501 – c. 1556
Sur general defeated at the Second Battle of Panipat
Guru Angad
Saint / religious leader · 1504 – 1552
Second Sikh Guru who standardised the Gurmukhi script
Francis Xavier
Saint / religious leader · 1506 – 1552
Jesuit missionary whose remains lie in Goa
Gulbadan Begum
Scholar / historian · 1523 – 1603
Babur's daughter who wrote the Humayun-nama
Rani Durgavati
Queen / royal · 1524 – 1564
Gond queen of Garha-Katanga who died resisting Akbar's army
Birbal
Statesman / administrator · 1528 – 1586
Minister and famed wit at Akbar's court
Raja Todar Mal
Statesman / administrator · died 1589
Akbar's finance minister who devised the zabt revenue system
Tulsidas
Poet / writer · c. 1532 – c. 1623
Author of the Ramcharitmanas
Abdul Qadir Badayuni
Scholar / historian · c. 1540 – c. 1615
Historian who wrote the Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh
Abul Fazl
Scholar / historian · 1551 – 1602
Author of the Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari
Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan
Poet / writer · 1556 – 1627
Poet of the Rahim ke dohe and general of Akbar
Muhammad Qasim Ferishta
Scholar / historian · c. 1560 – c. 1620
Historian of the Deccan who wrote the Tarikh-i-Ferishta
Guru Arjan Dev
Saint / religious leader · 1563 – 1606
Fifth Sikh Guru who compiled the Adi Granth
Nur Jahan
Statesman / administrator · 1577 – 1645
Jahangir's empress and the power behind his throne
17th century CE · 16
Sir Thomas Roe
Traveller / envoy · 1581 – 1644
English ambassador to the court of Jahangir
Ustad Ahmad Lahauri
Artist / musician · died c. 1649
Architect traditionally credited with designing the Taj Mahal
Mumtaz Mahal
Queen / royal · 1593 – 1631
Shah Jahan's wife in whose memory the Taj Mahal was built
Jijabai
Queen / royal · 1598 – 1674
Mother and mentor of Shivaji
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
Traveller / envoy · 1605 – 1689
French gem merchant who described the diamonds of Golconda
Samarth Ramdas
Saint / religious leader · 1608 – 1681
Saint who wrote the Dasbodh
Sant Tukaram
Saint / religious leader · c. 1608 – c. 1650
Marathi Varkari saint-poet of the abhangas
Tanaji Malusare
General / commander · died 1670
Maratha commander who died capturing Kondhana (Sinhagad)
Jahanara Begum
Queen / royal · 1614 – 1681
Shah Jahan's eldest daughter and Padshah Begum
Dara Shikoh
Scholar / historian · 1615 – 1659
Mughal prince who translated the Upanishads into Persian
François Bernier
Traveller / envoy · 1620 – 1688
French physician who wrote Travels in the Mogul Empire
Guru Tegh Bahadur
Saint / religious leader · 1621 – 1675
Ninth Sikh Guru executed in Delhi in 1675
Lachit Borphukan
General / commander · 1622 – 1672
Ahom commander who won the Battle of Saraighat
Niccolao Manucci
Traveller / envoy · c. 1638 – c. 1717
Venetian adventurer who wrote the Storia do Mogor
Guru Gobind Singh
Saint / religious leader · 1666 – 1708
Tenth Sikh Guru who founded the Khalsa
Banda Singh Bahadur
General / commander · 1670 – 1716
Sikh commander who abolished zamindari in the lands he conquered
18th century CE · 11
Nadir Shah
Invader / conqueror · 1688 – 1747
Persian ruler who sacked Delhi in 1739
Velu Nachiyar
Queen / royal · 1730 – 1796
Queen of Sivaganga who fought the East India Company
Nana Fadnavis
Statesman / administrator · 1742 – 1800
Peshwa minister called the 'Maratha Machiavelli'
Sir William Jones
Scholar / historian · 1746 – 1794
Founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal
Pazhassi Raja
General / commander · 1753 – 1805
Kerala ruler who fought the Company in the Cotiote War
Veerapandiya Kattabomman
General / commander · 1760 – 1799
Palayakarar chieftain hanged for resisting the Company
Tyagaraja
Artist / musician · 1767 – 1847
Carnatic composer, one of the musical Trinity
Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Social reformer · 1772 – 1833
Founder of the Brahmo Samaj who campaigned against sati
Lalon Fakir
Poet / writer · c. 1774 – c. 1890
Baul mystic poet of Bengal
Kunwar Singh
Freedom fighter · 1777 – 1858
Octogenarian leader of the 1857 revolt in Bihar
Kittur Chennamma
Queen / royal · 1778 – 1829
Queen of Kittur who led an armed revolt against the Company in 1824
19th century CE · 52
Hari Singh Nalwa
General / commander · 1791 – 1837
Sikh general who governed Peshawar
Mirza Ghalib
Poet / writer · 1797 – 1869
Urdu and Persian poet of Delhi
James Prinsep
Scholar / historian · 1799 – 1840
Deciphered the Brahmi script and Ashoka's edicts
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Statesman / administrator · 1800 – 1859
Author of the 1835 Minute on Indian Education
U Tirot Sing
Freedom fighter · 1802 – 1835
Khasi chief who fought the British in the Anglo-Khasi War
Alexander Cunningham
Scholar / historian · 1814 – 1893
Founder of the Archaeological Survey of India
Bhanubhakta Acharya
Poet / writer · 1814 – 1868
Adikavi of Nepali who translated the Ramayana
Tantia Tope
Freedom fighter · 1814 – 1859
Guerrilla commander of the 1857 revolt
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
Social reformer · 1817 – 1898
Founder of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh
Begum Hazrat Mahal
Freedom fighter · 1820 – 1879
Led the 1857 revolt in Lucknow
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Social reformer · 1820 – 1891
Campaigned for the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856
Nana Sahib
Freedom fighter · born 1824
Adopted heir of Baji Rao II who led the 1857 revolt at Kanpur
Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Social reformer · 1824 – 1883
Founder of the Arya Samaj
Dadabhai Naoroji
Freedom fighter · 1825 – 1917
The 'Grand Old Man of India' who formulated the drain theory
Jyotirao Phule
Social reformer · 1827 – 1890
Founder of the Satyashodhak Samaj
Mangal Pandey
Freedom fighter · 1827 – 1857
Sepoy whose attack at Barrackpore heralded the 1857 revolt
Rani Lakshmibai
Freedom fighter · c. 1828 – c. 1858
Rani of Jhansi and heroine of the 1857 revolt
Allan Octavian Hume
Statesman / administrator · 1829 – 1912
Retired civil servant who helped found the Indian National Congress
Savitribai Phule
Social reformer · 1831 – 1897
Pioneer of women's education who opened a girls' school in Pune
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Saint / religious leader · 1836 – 1886
Mystic of Dakshineswar and guru of Vivekananda
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Poet / writer · 1838 – 1894
Author of Anandamath, which contains Vande Mataram
Jamsetji Tata
Statesman / administrator · 1839 – 1904
Founder of the Tata Group
W. C. Bonnerjee
Freedom fighter · 1844 – 1906
First President of the Indian National Congress
Annie Besant
Freedom fighter · 1847 – 1933
Theosophist who launched a Home Rule League in 1916
Raja Ravi Varma
Artist / musician · 1848 – 1906
Painter of Indian mythological subjects in oils
Surendranath Banerjea
Freedom fighter · 1848 – 1925
Founder of the Indian Association in 1876
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Freedom fighter · 1856 – 1920
Declared 'Swaraj is my birthright' and edited the Kesari
Sree Narayana Guru
Social reformer · 1856 – 1928
Kerala reformer who preached 'One caste, one religion, one God'
Bipin Chandra Pal
Freedom fighter · 1858 – 1932
Swadeshi leader, the 'Pal' of Lal-Bal-Pal
Jagadish Chandra Bose
Scientist / mathematician · 1858 – 1937
Pioneer of radio science and plant physiology
Pandita Ramabai
Social reformer · 1858 – 1922
Scholar who founded the Mukti Mission for women
M. Visvesvaraya
Scientist / mathematician · 1861 – 1962
Engineer and Diwan of Mysore whose birthday is Engineers' Day
Madan Mohan Malaviya
Freedom fighter · 1861 – 1946
Founder of Banaras Hindu University
Motilal Nehru
Freedom fighter · 1861 – 1931
Author of the Nehru Report of 1928
Prafulla Chandra Ray
Scientist / mathematician · 1861 – 1944
Chemist who founded Bengal Chemicals
Rabindranath Tagore
Poet / writer · 1861 – 1941
First Asian Nobel laureate (Literature, 1913)
Swami Vivekananda
Saint / religious leader · 1863 – 1902
Addressed the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893
Lala Lajpat Rai
Freedom fighter · 1865 – 1928
'Punjab Kesari' who died after a lathi-charge during the Simon Commission protest
Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Freedom fighter · 1866 – 1915
Moderate leader and Gandhi's political mentor
Kasturba Gandhi
Freedom fighter · 1869 – 1944
Satyagrahi and wife of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Freedom fighter · 1869 – 1948
Leader of non-violent satyagraha against British rule
Matangini Hazra
Freedom fighter · c. 1869 – c. 1942
'Gandhi Buri', shot while leading a Quit India procession
Chittaranjan Das
Freedom fighter · 1870 – 1925
'Deshbandhu' who co-founded the Swaraj Party
Sri Aurobindo
Philosopher · 1872 – 1950
Revolutionary turned yogi-philosopher of Pondicherry
Birsa Munda
Freedom fighter · 1875 – 1900
Tribal leader of the Ulgulan in Chota Nagpur
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Statesman / administrator · 1875 – 1950
'Iron Man of India' who integrated the princely states
Sir John Marshall
Scholar / historian · 1876 – 1958
ASI Director-General who announced the Indus civilization in 1924
Muhammad Iqbal
Poet / writer · 1877 – 1938
Poet of 'Saare Jahan Se Achha'
Daya Ram Sahni
Scholar / historian · 1879 – 1939
Archaeologist who excavated Harappa in 1921
E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar)
Social reformer · 1879 – 1973
Founder of the Self-Respect Movement
Sarojini Naidu
Freedom fighter · 1879 – 1949
The 'Nightingale of India' and first woman governor of an Indian state
Munshi Premchand
Poet / writer · 1880 – 1936
Hindi-Urdu novelist of Godaan
20th century CE · 51
Subramania Bharati
Poet / writer · 1882 – 1921
Tamil nationalist poet 'Mahakavi'
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Freedom fighter · 1883 – 1966
Author of 'The Indian War of Independence, 1857'
Rajendra Prasad
Statesman / administrator · 1884 – 1963
First President of India
R. D. Banerji
Scholar / historian · 1885 – 1930
Archaeologist who excavated Mohenjo-daro in 1922
Rash Behari Bose
Freedom fighter · 1886 – 1945
Revolutionary who founded the Indian Independence League in Japan
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Scientist / mathematician · 1887 – 1920
Self-taught mathematician famed for the number 1729
C. V. Raman
Scientist / mathematician · 1888 – 1970
Physics Nobel laureate (1930) for the Raman effect
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Freedom fighter · 1888 – 1958
Congress president and independent India's first Education Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru
Statesman / administrator · 1889 – 1964
First Prime Minister of India
Khudiram Bose
Freedom fighter · 1889 – 1908
Teenage revolutionary executed after the Muzaffarpur bombing
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Freedom fighter · 1890 – 1988
'Frontier Gandhi' who led the Khudai Khidmatgars
B. R. Ambedkar
Statesman / administrator · 1891 – 1956
Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution
Meghnad Saha
Scientist / mathematician · 1893 – 1956
Astrophysicist of the Saha ionization equation
Satyendra Nath Bose
Scientist / mathematician · 1894 – 1974
Physicist of Bose-Einstein statistics
Vinoba Bhave
Social reformer · 1895 – 1982
Founder of the Bhoodan (land gift) movement
Alluri Sitarama Raju
Freedom fighter · 1897 – 1924
Leader of the Rampa Rebellion of 1922-24
Ram Prasad Bismil
Freedom fighter · 1897 – 1927
Leader of the Kakori train action, hanged in 1927
Subhas Chandra Bose
Freedom fighter · 1897 – 1945
'Netaji' who led the Azad Hind Fauj (INA)
Kazi Nazrul Islam
Poet / writer · 1899 – 1976
The 'Rebel Poet', national poet of Bangladesh
Udham Singh
Freedom fighter · 1899 – 1940
Shot Michael O'Dwyer in London to avenge Jallianwala Bagh
Ashfaqulla Khan
Freedom fighter · 1900 – 1927
Kakori conspirator hanged at Faizabad
Potti Sriramulu
Freedom fighter · 1901 – 1952
Died fasting for a separate Andhra State
Syama Prasad Mookerjee
Statesman / administrator · 1901 – 1953
Founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh
Jayaprakash Narayan
Freedom fighter · 1902 – 1979
Leader of the 'Total Revolution' movement of 1974
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Social reformer · 1903 – 1988
Freedom fighter who revived Indian handicrafts
J. R. D. Tata
Statesman / administrator · 1904 – 1993
Founded Tata Airlines, India's first airline, in 1932
Major Dhyan Chand
Sportsperson / mountaineer · 1905 – 1979
Hockey wizard who won three Olympic gold medals
Chandrashekhar Azad
Freedom fighter · 1906 – 1931
HSRA revolutionary who died fighting in Alfred Park, Allahabad
Bhagat Singh
Freedom fighter · 1907 – 1931
Revolutionary hanged in 1931 after the Central Assembly bombing
Aruna Asaf Ali
Freedom fighter · 1909 – 1996
Hoisted the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank on 9 August 1942
Homi J. Bhabha
Scientist / mathematician · 1909 – 1966
Father of India's nuclear programme
Mother Teresa
Saint / religious leader · 1910 – 1997
Nobel Peace laureate who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata
Ram Manohar Lohia
Statesman / administrator · 1910 – 1967
Socialist leader of the Samyukta Socialist Party
Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Poet / writer · 1911 – 1984
Urdu poet of 'Hum Dekhenge'
Amrita Sher-Gil
Artist / musician · 1913 – 1941
Pioneer of modern Indian painting
Tenzing Norgay
Sportsperson / mountaineer · 1914 – 1986
Summited Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953
Rani Gaidinliu
Freedom fighter · 1915 – 1993
Naga spiritual and political leader who resisted British rule
M. S. Subbulakshmi
Artist / musician · 1916 – 2004
Carnatic vocalist, the first musician awarded the Bharat Ratna
Ustad Bismillah Khan
Artist / musician · 1916 – 2006
Shehnai maestro of Varanasi
Vikram Sarabhai
Scientist / mathematician · 1919 – 1971
Father of the Indian space programme
Pandit Ravi Shankar
Artist / musician · 1920 – 2012
Sitar maestro who took Indian classical music to the world
Satyajit Ray
Artist / musician · 1921 – 1992
Film director of Pather Panchali
Verghese Kurien
Scientist / mathematician · 1921 – 2012
Father of the White Revolution (Operation Flood)
Kanaklata Barua
Freedom fighter · 1924 – 1942
Teenage martyr of the Quit India Movement in Assam
M. S. Swaminathan
Scientist / mathematician · 1925 – 2023
Agricultural scientist who led India's Green Revolution
Lata Mangeshkar
Artist / musician · 1929 – 2022
Legendary playback singer awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001
Milkha Singh
Sportsperson / mountaineer · 1929 – 2021
Sprinter known as the 'Flying Sikh'
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Scientist / mathematician · 1931 – 2015
'Missile Man' and 11th President of India
Amartya Sen
Scholar / historian · born 1933
Nobel laureate in Economics (1998)
Rakesh Sharma
Scientist / mathematician · born 1949
First Indian citizen in space (1984)
Kalpana Chawla
Scientist / mathematician · 1962 – 2003
First woman of Indian origin in space