Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 131st Birth Anniversary: Here Are Some Lesser Known Facts About Philosopher & Scholar on Teachers' Day 2019

India will celebrate 131^st birth anniversary of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second president of India. Sarvepalli Radhakrishan was born on September 5, 1988, in Tiruttani in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Radhakrishnan was known to be a great teacher. So it’s only befitting that his birthday is observed as Teachers’ Day in India. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was one of the most distinguished Indian scholars of the twentieth century. Teachers' Day 2019 Information: Know About The Day Observed in the Memory of Former Indian President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Since 1962, his birthday has been celebrated in India as Teachers' Day. Radhakrishnan was the first vice-president of India and the second president of the country. He did his Masters' in Philosophy from the University of Madras. Radhakrishnan taught in the University of Mysore and University of Calcutta. He was very popular among his students. Teachers’ Day 2019: History, Significance and Celebrations of the Day Honouring Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Here Are Some Lesser Known Facts About Former President:

• Radhakrishnan became Vice President of India in 1952 and went on to become second President of the country in 1962.
• In April 1909, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was appointed to the Department of Philosophy at the Madras Presidency College and had the honour to became the first Indian to hold a professorial chair at the University of Oxford from 1936-1952.
• Radhakrishnan was honoured with several ranks and awards during his life, including a knighthood in 1931. He was conferred with  the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in 1954 and honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.
• Radhakrishnan was appointed as ambassador to UNESCO in 1946. Later, he was appointed as ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1949.
• He also the Union Education Commission in 1948 and was responsible about bringing about reforms in India’s education system.
• The former president was one of the founders of Helpage India, a non profit organisation for elderly underprivileged in India.
• Radhakrishnan wrote several books on the subject of education and philosophy including 'The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore'.
• In 1931, he was nominated to the League of Nations Committee for Intellectual Cooperation.
• When he became the President of India, some of his students and friends requested him to allow them to celebrate his birthday, on 5 September. He replied, "Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if September 5th is observed as Teachers' Day."
• He served as Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 till 1948.

Radhakrishnan was married to Sivakamu, a distant cousin, at an age of 16.  The couple had five daughters and a son. Radhakrishnan was inspired alot Swami Vivekanand. The former president was well vresed schoar in Indian and Western philosphy and wrote many books. On his birth anniversary, schools and colleges in the country organise various events and programmes honouring teachers.  Radhakrishan breathed his last on April 17, 1975.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2019 07:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).