Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Biography

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a smart person from India. He did many different jobs like teaching, working in politics, and writing about his beliefs. He became India’s second leader and before that, he was the second-in-command. Dr. Radhakrishnan spent his life writing about his religion, which he called Hinduism or Vedanta. He wanted to explain that his religion made sense and was good for people to follow. He knew a lot about both Indian and Western ideas and used them in his writing. Because of this, people in the academic world see him as an important figure who helped people in the West understand Hinduism better.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan got many important awards when he was alive. In 1931, he became a knight. In 1954, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Bharat Ratna, which is the highest honor in India for civilians. In 1963, he became an honorary member of a special group in England. He also helped start a charity called Helpage India. This charity helps old people in India who don’t have much money. Radhakrishnan thought that teachers should be really smart people. In India, since 1962, people have celebrated his birthday as Teachers’ Day on September 5th every year.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Early Life

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an important person in India a long time ago. He was very smart and did many important things in the 1900s. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s Date of Birth is September 5, 1888, in a place called Tiruttani, which is now in Tamil Nadu, India. He became the first vice president of India in 1952 and did this job until 1962. People liked him because he was a good leader. Later, he became the President of India and served from 1962 to 1967. When he was President, he talked a lot about how culture and education were important.

People remember Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan as a smart person who cared about education. He also represented India to the world. He wanted people to know about Indian philosophy and culture, both in India and in other countries. Even though he passed away on April 17, 1975, his ideas still inspire many people in India and other places.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Education

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan went to a school in Thiruttani called K.V. High School when he was young. Later, he moved to two other schools in different places in 1896, Government High Secondary School in Walajapet, and Hermannsburg Evangelical Lutheran Mission School in Tirupati.

In order to finish his high school studies, he joined Voorhees College in Vellore. After he completed his first year of college, at the age of 17, he applied to Madras Christian College.

In 1906, he graduated from the same college with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. For his bachelor’s degree thesis, he wrote a paper called “The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions.” He wrote this paper in response to the criticism that Vedanta’s philosophy did not pay enough attention to ethics. Two of his teachers, Rev. William Meston and Dr. Alfred George Hogg gave his thesis very good grades. His thesis was published when he was only twenty years old.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Career

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Academic Carrer

1. Radhakrishnan started teaching at Madras Presidency College’s Philosophy Department in April 1909.
2. In 1918, he became a Philosophy Professor at the University of Mysore and taught at Maharaja’s College in Mysore.
3. While at Maharaja’s College, he wrote articles for important journals like The Quest, Journal of Philosophy, and the International Journal of Ethics.
4. He also wrote his first book, “Rabindranath Tagore’s Philosophy,” in which he said that Tagore’s philosophy truly represented the Indian way of thinking.
5. In 1920, he published his second book, “The Reign of Religion in Contemporary Philosophy.“
6. In 1921, he became a philosophy professor at the University of Calcutta, holding the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science.
7. In 1926, he represented the University of Calcutta at the British Empire Universities Congress and attended the International Congress of Philosophy at Harvard University.
8. During this time, he gave the Hibbert Lecture on the Ideals of Life at Manchester College, Oxford, in 1929, which later became a book called “An Idealist View of Life.”
9. In 1929, Radhakrishnan was invited to teach at Manchester College, where he gave a Comparative Religion lecture to Oxford students.
10. In June 1931, he was knighted by King George V for his contributions to education, and in April 1932, the Governor-General of India, the Earl of Willingdon, formally honored him.
11. After India’s independence, he stopped using the title of “Sir” and used his academic title of Doctor.
12. From 1931 to 1936, he served as the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University.
13. In 1936, he became a Fellow of All Souls College and was appointed as the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford.
14. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1937, and nominations continued for many years.
15. In 1939, he was asked to take over as the Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) after Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya. He held this position from January 1948 to January 1949.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Political Carrer

Radhakrishnan started doing politics when he was older, after having a good career in teaching. He got involved in politics after gaining fame worldwide. He wanted to change the name of a place in India called Rayalaseema, and he got this idea from a meeting he attended in 1928.

In 1931, he became a member of a group called the League of Nations Committee for Intellectual Cooperation. He was known as an expert on Indian thoughts and explained the importance of Eastern ideas to the Western world.

After India became independent, Radhakrishnan got more involved in both Indian and international politics. From 1946 to 1951, he was in charge of a group from India and worked for UNESCO, which is an organization that promotes education and culture around the world.

For two years after India became independent, he was also part of the group that made India’s constitution. He had to balance this with his job as a professor in England and his work with UNESCO.

When the group finished making a report about universities in India in 1949, Radhakrishnan was chosen to be India’s ambassador to Russia. He did this job until 1952. Later, he became a member of a group in India called the Rajya Sabha. In 1952, he became India’s first vice president, and in 1962, he became the second president.

While he was in government, Dr. Radhakrishnan saw a lot of problems in the world. There was a war happening in Korea when he became Vice President. There were also conflicts with China and problems between India and Pakistan. These problems happened because of differences between countries and a lack of trust.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan didn’t like groups like the League of Nations, which he thought were too controlling. Instead, he wanted a new way of working together with other countries, one that focused on the deeper meaning of life and experience. He believed that this would lead to more tolerance and respect between different cultures and nations.

Awards & Honours of Dr. Sarvepelli Radhakrishnan

Radhakrishnan was given the highest honor in India, called Bharat Ratna, in 1954.

1. In 1931, he was given a special title by King George V for his work in education.
2. Germany honored him in 1954 with an award called Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts.
3. Mexico also recognized his achievements in 1954 and gave him an award called the Sash First Class of the Order of the Aztec Eagle.
4. The United Kingdom gave him a special membership called the Order of Merit in 1963.
5. He was nominated 27 times for the Nobel Prize, 16 times for literature, and 11 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
6. In 1938, he became a Fellow of the British Academy.
7. In 1961, he received the Peace Prize in the German Book Trade.
8. In 1968, he became the first person to receive the Sahitya Akademi fellowship, which is a high honor given by the Sahitya Akademi to a writer.
9. Since 1962, India has celebrated Teacher’s Day on September 5th, Radhakrishnan’s birthday, to honor his belief that teachers should be the best in the world.
10. In 1975, he got the Templeton Prize for promoting peace and sharing a common truth about God, which include

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Death

Radhakrishnan’s wife, Sivakamu, died on November 26, 1956. After that, he didn’t marry again. In 1967, he stopped working in public and spent his last eight years in a house he built in Mylapore, Madras. On April 17, 1975, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan passed away. He left behind a strong influence because of his knowledge, ideas, and political works.

FAQs on Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Biography

Who is Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan?

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a prominent Indian philosopher, teacher, and the first Vice President and the second President of India.

Why is Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan birthday celebrated as Teachers Day?

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday is celebrated as Teachers' Day in honor of his contributions to education and his role as a respected teacher and philosopher.

Why Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was so famous?

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was famous for his deep knowledge of philosophy, his role as a teacher, and his leadership as the President of India.

Did Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan win a Nobel Prize?

No, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan did not win a Nobel Prize.

What is the work of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan?

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a philosopher, teacher, and statesman. He wrote extensively on philosophy and worked in the field of education and diplomacy.

Who is called the best teacher?

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is often called one of the best teachers because of his dedication to education and his influential teachings.

What Is Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's Contribution To Education?

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan made significant contributions to education by emphasizing the importance of teachers and promoting educational reforms in India.