Biographies

Biography of Ritesh Agarwal Ritesh Agarwal is an Indian entrepreneur, billionaire and the founder and CEO of Oyo Rooms. Agarwal was born in Bissam Cuttack, in Odisha state, India and brought up in Titilagarh. At the age of 13, he started selling SIM cards. Agarwal graduated from St. Johns Senior Secondary School and moved to Delhi in 2011 for college. He dropped out of college, and was selected for the Peter Thiel Fellowship in 2013. Agarwal started a budget accommodation portal, Oravel Stays, for booking budget hotels. It was accepted into the accelerator program by Venture Nursery in September 2012, and later was one of the winners of the 2013 Thiel Fellowship program, receiving a grant of $100,000. The company was launched as OYO Rooms in May 2013. By September 2018, the company raised $1 billion. In July 2019 it was reported that Agarwal purchased $2 billion in shares in the company, tripling his stake. His net worth in 2020 was estimated to be aapproximately $1.1 billi...

Srinivasa Ramanujan Srinivasa Ramanujan (22 December 1887 - 26 April 1920) was an Indian mathematician who lived during the British rule in India. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable. Ramanujan initially developed his own mathematical research in isolation. He tried to interest the leading professional mathematicians in his work, but failed for the most part. What he had to show them was too novel, too unfamiliar, and additionally presented in unusual ways; they could not be bothered'.  Seeking mathematicians who could better understand his work, in 1913 he began a postal partnership with the English mathematician G. H. Hardy at the University of Cambridge, England. recognizing Ramanujan's work as extraordinary, Hardy arranged for him to travel to Cambridg...

Albert Einstein  Albert Einstein 14 March 1879 - 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He is best known to the general public for his mass energy equivalence formula E = mc², which has been dubbed 'the world's most famous equation'. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics 'for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect', a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. The son of a salesman who later operated an electrochemical factory, Einstein was born in the German Empire but moved to Switzerland in 1895 and renounced his German citizenship in 1896. Specializing in physics and mathematics, he received his academic teaching diploma from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in 1900. T...

Karsanbhai Patel Born into a farmer family from north Gujarat, Karsanbhai finished his B.Sc. in Chemistry at age 21 and worked as a lab technician, first in the New Cotton Mills, Ahmedabad, of the Lalbhai group and then at the Geology and Mining Department of the state Government. In 1969, Karsanbhai started selling detergent powder, manufactured and packaged in his backyard. This was an after-office business - the one-man company would bicycle through the neighbourhoods selling handmade detergent packets door to door. At a price of Rs. 3 per kg, (one third the price of leading detergents), it was an instant success. Karsanbhai branded his detergent soap, Nirma, after the name of his daughter. After three years, Karsanbhai felt confident enough to quit his job. Later he said, 'The lack of any such precedent in my family made the venture fought with fear of failure. But farmers from North Gujarat are known for their spirit of enterprise.' Karsanbhai set up shop at sm...

Jessica Cox Cox was born in 2 february 1983 in Sierra Vista, United States. His Parents were William Cox and Inez Cox. Jessica Cox graduated from the University of Arizona in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in communications. Cox has not used prosthetic arms since she turned 14. Using her feet as most people use their hands, she is able, among other things, to drive an unmodified car with an unrestricted license, to type on a keyboard at 25 words per minute, to pump her own gas, and to put in and remove her contact lenses. She is also a certified scuba diver. Jessica Cox flew in a single engine airplane for the first time via Wright Flight in 2004. Jessica earned her pilot's certificate on October 10, 2008, after three years of training, and is qualified to fly a light-sport aircraft to altitudes of 10,000 feet. She received her flight training through an Able Flight scholarship and soloed under the instruction of Parrish Traweek. Cox's S...

Srikanth Bolla Bolla was born visually impaired at childbirth in Seetharamapuram of Machilipatnam, a city in Andhra Pradesh in 1992.  His family was mainly dependent on farming After his matriculation, he pursued science in his 10+2, but was not permitted to do so. Bolla filed a case, and after a six-month wait, he was allowed to pursue science at his own risk. Bolla topped his class with a 98% on his XII board exams.  Bolla was denied admission to coaching institutes for Indian Institute of Technology, where he wanted to study engineering, because he is blind. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was the first international blind student.He was given corporate opportunities in America, but he was looking for some innovative idea in India. He was a youth leader since 2005 and went onto become a member of Lead India 2020: The Second National Youth Movement. Started by former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Lead India 2020 is helping...

Harland Senders Colonel Harland David Sanders (September 9, 1890 - December 16, 1980) was an American businessman, best known for founding fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC) and later acting as the company's brand ambassador and symbol. His name and image are still symbols of the company. The title 'colonel' was honorary ( a Kentucky Colonel ) not the military rank. Sanders held a number of jobs in his early life, such as steam engine stoker, insurance salesman and filling station operator. He began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in North Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. During that time Sanders developed his 'secret recipe' and his patented method of cooking chicken in a pressure fryer. Sanders recognized the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first KFC franchise opened in South Salt Lake, Utah in 1952. When his original restaurant closed, he devoted himse...

Dr. Verghese Kurien He was born on 26 November, 1921 in Kozhikode, Kerala to a Syrian Anglican Christian family. and schooled at Diamond Jubilee Higher Secondary School, Gobichettipalayam, in Coimbatore district (now in Erode district, Tamil Nadu) while his father worked as a civil surgeon at the government hospital there. He joined Loyola College in Madras (now, Chennai) at the age of 14, graduating in science with physics in 1940, and then got a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy which at that time was part of University of Madras, in 1943 He had to fend for himself as he was young for his age in every class. This according to him, developed his sense of independence. He lost his father at 22 and his great uncle moved his family to his home in Trichur (now Thrissur). A keen military cadet and a boxer at college, when he wanted to join the army as an engineer, his mother persuaded him to join the Tata Steel Technical Ins...

Wright Brothers The Wright brothers [Orville (August 19, 1871 - January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 - May 30, 1912)] were two American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful motor-operated airplane. They made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, 4 mi (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In 1904-05, the brothers developed their flying machine to make longer-running and more aerodynamic flights with the Wright Flyer II, followed by the first truly practical fixed-wing aircraft, the Wright Flyer III. The Wright brothers were also the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible. The brothers' breakthrough was their creation of a three-axis control system, which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium. This method rema...

Larry page  Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American software engineer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known as one of the co-founders of Google along with Sergey Brin. Page was the chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company) until stepping down on December 3, 2019. After stepping aside as Google CEO in August 2001 in favor of Eric Schmidt, he re-assumed the role in April 2011. He announced his intention to step aside a second time in July 2015 to become CEO of Alphabet, under which Google's assets would be reorganized. Under Page, Alphabet sought to deliver major advancements in a variety of industries. On December 4, 2019, Page stepped down from his CEO position from Alphabet. Both Page and Sergey Brin remain at Alphabet as co-founders, board members, employees, and controlling shareholders. Forbes placed him 10th in the list 'Billionaires 2019'. As of March 2020, Page is the 11th-richest person in ...

Stephen Hawking Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford to Frank and Isobel Eileen Hawking. Hawking had two younger sisters, Philippa and Mary, and an adopted brother, Edward Frank David. Hawking's mother was born into a family of doctors in Glasgow, Scotland. His wealthy paternal great-grandfather, from Yorkshire, over-extended himself buying farm land and then went bankrupt in the great agricultural depression during the early 20th century. Stephen Hawking was one of the most brilliant theoratical physicists of all time! His full name was Stephen William Hawking. He was born in Oxford on 8 January 1942, the three hundredth anniversary of the death of Galileo Galilei. His father, Frank Hawking, came from a family of tenant farmers in Yorkshire who suffered hard times during the agricultural depression at the beginning of the twentieth century.  Stephen's mother, Isobel Walker, was born in Dunfermline in Scotland, but the family moved to Devon when she ...

Ratan Tata One of the most well-known and respected industrialists in India, Ratan Naval Tata is the Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group. At the age of 73, Tata heads one of the country's largest conglomerates which comprise nearly 100 firms with revenues totaling about USD 67 billion. He is also the chairman of major Tata companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Teleservices. Power, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, and The Indian Hotels Company.   Tata was born on December 28, 1937 in Mumbai, in one of the richest families.His great grandfather was Jamsedji Tata,  founder of the Tata group. As a young boy, Tata had a disturbed childhood after his parents split. He was raised by his grandmother, Lady Navajbai in the lap of luxury at Tata Palace. America held a special fascination for the Tata scion and he went to Cornell University to study architecture and structural engineering. Later he pursued a management course from Har...

Sabeer Bhatia ( Hotmail Founder) Bhatia briefly worked for Apple Computer (as a hardware engineer) and Firepower Systems Inc. He, along with his colleague Jack Smith, set up Hotmail on 4 July 1996, American Independence Day, symbolizing 'freedom' from ISP-based e-mail and the ability to access a user's inbox from anywhere in the world As President and CEO, Bhatia led Hotmail until its eventual acquisition by Microsoft in 1998 for an estimated $400 million. Bhatia worked at Microsoft for one year after the Hotmail acquisition and in April 1999, left Microsoft to start another venture, Arzoo Inc, an e-commerce firm. Bhatia started a free messaging service called JaxtrSMS. He said that JaxtrSMS would do to SMS what Hotmail did for e-mail. Claiming it to be a disruptive technology, he says that the operators will lose revenue on the reduction in number of SMSes on their network but will benefit from the data plan that the user has to buy. To date, JaxtrSMS s...

Mahatma N.D. Grover.  (15th Nov. 1923-6th Feb. 2008) Mahatma N.D. Grover was born on 15th Nov., 1923 at Isakhel in Pakistan. Having done M.Sc. (Chemistry) from Punjab University, he joined D.AV. College, Lahore as a lecturer in 1945. After the independence, he resumed his service in D.A.V. College, Ambala City and served there till 1960. He was the founder Principal of D.A.V. College, Abohar, Distt. Firozepur, Punjab. During his tenure, from 1960 to 1977, he established several educational institutions in its campus for which it is known as a Mini University. He served as the Principal in Dayanand Post Graduate College, Hissar (Haryana) from 1977 to 1982. He adopted the life membership of D.A.V. Society, the rarest contribution given to the Arya Samaj, in 1957. He also served as the Vice President of DAV CMC New Delhi.  He was offered a herculean task to establish the DAVS in Eastern India in 1982. It was his grit, courage, inexhaustible energy and farsighted vision that now m...