Teachers' Day 2024: Who was Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan? Know facts about the first Vice-President of India
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan suggested that his birthday be observed as Teachers' Day to a group of students who wanted to celebrate him. Here are some fascinating facts about Dr Radhakrishnan
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FollowEvery year on September 5, India celebrates Teachers' Day. This day also commemorates the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, an eminent educator and India's first and second vice president. He was also a scholar, educator, and respected philosopher. Students held him in high regard due to his charisma.
He offered to a group of pupils anxious to celebrate his birthday that it be observed as Teachers' Day. So, since 1962, schools and higher education institutions across India have commemorated the day by paying honour to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan as well as all of the instructors in the country who work to assist children learn.
Here are some fascinating facts about Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan:
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, to a middle-class family in Thiruthani, Tamil Nadu. He was a brilliant student who studied philosophy at Christian College in Madras.
- Dr Radhakrishnan taught in a variety of colleges, including the University of Mysore and the University of Calcutta. He was appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, Delhi University, and Banaras Hindu University.
- He was the first Indian to occupy a position at the University of Oxford, the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics (1936–1952). In 1930, he was also named the Haskell lecturer in Comparative Religion at the University of Chicago.
- Dr. Radhakrishnan headed the Indian delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and was chosen chairman of its executive board in 1948.
- Dr. Radhakrishnan became India's first Vice President in 1952 and its second President in 1962.
- In 1954, he was granted the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian distinction.
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was nominated for the Nobel Prize 27 times, including sixteen times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and eleven times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
- His published works include Indian Philosophy (1923-27), The Philosophy of the Upanishads (1924), An Idealist View of Life (1932), Eastern Religions and Western Thought (1939), and East and West: Some Reflections (1955).
Teachers' Day coincides with Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birth anniversary. When Dr. Radhakrishnan was President of India from 1962 to 1967, his students and friends asked him if they might celebrate his birthday on September 5. While he did not agree to a grand celebration, Dr. Radhakrishnan said he would be delighted if the day was designated Teachers' Day. Teachers' Day has been commemorated on September 5 every year since 1962.
