Teachers’ Day 2023: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan!

TEACHERS DAY 2023 : Since 1962, India has celebrated Teacher's Day on 5 September to commemorate Dr. Radhakrishnan's birthday. This day honours the renowned personality by valuing his ideals and celebrating teachers and his rights. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a noted philosopher, a powerful orator, the first Vice President of India and the second President of the country. He enormously contributed to education to positively change the country and improve people's lives. Here are some lesser-known facts about the influential leader.

Lesser Known Facts About Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

1. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's father, Sarvepalli Veeraswami, was a subordinate revenue officer, and his mother was Sarvepalli Sita.

2. Dr. Radhakrishnan got married at the age of sixteen. He had five daughters and a son with his wife, Sivakamu.

3. He enrolled in Madras Christian College at the age of 17. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in philosophy in 1906.

4. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's bachelor's thesis work titled "The Ethics of Vedanta and Its Metaphysical Presuppositions" received high praise and was published when he was only 20.

5. In 1918, he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mysore. In 1921, he was appointed to the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Sciences at the University of Calcutta. Later, he was appointed Spalding Professor of Oriental Religion and Ethics at the University of Oxford (1936-1952), making him the first Indian to hold a professorship at the university.

6. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan led the Indian delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and was elected President of the organization's executive board in 1948-49. From 1949 to 1952, he was also India's ambassador to the Soviet Union.

7. On his return to India in 1952, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was elected vice-president, and on 11 May 1962, he was elected President, succeeding Rajendra Prasad, the first president of India. Due to his failing health, he is the only Indian President unable to attend the Republic Day parade.

8. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's notable publications include Indian Philosophy, The Philosophy of the Upanishads, An Idealistic View of Life, Eastern Religions and Western Thought, and East and West: Some Reflections.

9. In 1954, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 16 times and for the Nobel Peace Prize 11 times.

10. In 1931, King George V knighted him for his extraordinary educational contributions.