Google on Saturday honoured later Indian engineer Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya on his 157th birth anniversary with a doodle. The doodle shows Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore which was built under the guidance of Visvesvaraya. In India, Dr M. Visvesvaraya's birthday is celebrated as Engineers' day remembering the scholar and the work of engineers. This year marks 50th Engineers' Day celebration in India.

Visvesvaraya was born to a Telugu Brahmin family on September 15, 1861, in Mysore. He was also a scholar and the 19th Diwan of Mysore (1912 to 1918). He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good. He was called the "Father of modern Mysore state" for the strong and brilliant structures he made. Georges Lemaître Birth Anniversary: Google Doodle Celebrates Birthday of Astronomer Behind Big Bang Theory

Visvesvaraya lost his father at 12. He completed BA from Central College, Bangalore and later went to study LCE (Licentiate in Civil Engineering) at College of Engineering, Pune. He took a job with the PWD of Bombay and later joined the Indian Irrigation Commission.

Visvesvaraya has worked on quite many engineering projects and was the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam on Kaveri river in Mysore. It was Asia's biggest reservoir when it was built. He was instrumental in designing flood protection system in Hyderabad and extremely intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan. He is the one who developed a system to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion.

He has worked with the Public Works Department (PWD) of Mumbai and was later invited to join the Indian Irrigation Commission. He is to be credited for the making of The Mysore Soap Factory, the Parasitoide Laboratory, the Mysore Iron & Steel Works, the Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Institute, the Bangalore Agricultural University and the State Bank of Mysore.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2018 12:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).