Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India. Rajendra Prasad was a great freedom-fighter, and the architect of the Indian

Constitution, having served as President of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of the Republic from 1948 to 1950. He

had also served as a Cabinet Minister briefly in the first Government of Independent India. He was a crucial leader of the Indian

Independence Movement. Prasad was born in Jiradei, in the Siwan district of Bihar. His father, Mahadev Sahay, was a Persian and

Sanskrit language scholar; his mother, Kamleshwari Devi, was a devout lady who would tell stories from the Ramayana to her son. At the age of 5, the young Rajendra Prasad was sent to a Maulavi for learning Persian. After that he was sent to Chapra Zilla School for

further primary studies.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Date of Birth

: Dec 3, 1884

Date of Death

: Feb 28, 1963

Place of Birth

: Zeradei, Bihar

Tenure Order

: 1st President

Took Office : Jan 26, 1950Left Office : May 13, 1962Successor : Dr.S Radhakrishnan

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is best known as the man who introduced the thinking of western idealist philosophers into Indian thought. He was an Oxford don who became the first Vice President and the second President of India. He was born at Tiruttani, 64 km to the northeast of Madras in South India. His mother tongue was Telugu. His early years were spent in Tiruttani, Tiruvallur and Tirupati. His primary education was in Gowdie School, Tiruvallur. He graduated with a Master's Degree in Arts from Madras University. In 1921, he was appointed to the most important philosophy chair in India, King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science in the University of Calcutta. When he became the President of India in 1962, some of his students and friends requested him to allow them to celebrate his birthday, September 5. He replied, "Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if September 5 is observed as Teacher's Day." Since then, Teacher's Day has been celebrated in India. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954. The University of Oxford instituted the Radhakrishnan Chevening Scholarships and the Radhakrishnan Memorial Award in his memory. He also received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1961.

Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Date of Birth : Sep 5, 1888Date of Death

: Apr 17, 1975

Place of Birth

: Tiruttani, Madras

Tenure Order

: 2nd President

Took Office : May 13, 1962Left Office : May 13, 1967Successor : Dr. Zakir Hussain

Born in 1897 at Hyderabad, Dr Zakir Husain was the third President of India from May 13, 1967 until his death. Hussain was born in Hyderabad, India, where his father had migrated from Uttar Pradesh. He went for higher education to Anglo-Muhammadan Oriental College (now Aligarh Muslim University). He was known even in those days for his love of knowledge, his wit and eloquence and his readiness to help his fellow students. Zakir Husain, then only 23 and a student of the M.A. , was among the small group of students and teachers who decided to establish a National Muslim University and named it Jamia Millia Islamia. After serving as the Governor of Bihar from 1957 to 1962, and as the Vice President of India for a term of five years, from 1962 to 1967, Dr. Zakir Husain was elected President of India on May 13, 1967. In his deeply moving inaugural speech he said that the whole of India was his home and all its people were his family. He died in office.

Dr.Zakir HussainDate of Birth : Feb 8, 1897Date of Death

: May 3, 1969

Place of Birth : HyderabadTenure Order : 3rd PresidentTook Office : May 13, 1967Left Office : May 3, 1969Successor : V V Giri

M.Hidayatullah was born on 17th December, 1905 in Maharashtra. He was Chief Justice of India from 1968 to 1970. He was Acting President of India for a short term from 20th July to 21st August, 1969. Later, he served as the Vice-President of India from 1979 to 1984.

Justice Mohd. Hidayatullah

Date of Birth : Dec 17, 1905Date of Death : -Place of Birth : MaharashtraTenure Order : Jul 20, 1969Took Office : Jul 20, 1969Left Office : Aug 21, 1969Successor : -

V.V.Giri was born at Berhampore, Orissa on August 10, 1894. He was responsible for the formation of the all India Trade Union Congress, of which he was President twice. A long period of his public life was devoted to building up the All India Railwaymen's Federation. He was Labour and Industry Minister in the first popular ministry in Madras during 1937-39 and served as Union Labour Minister during 1952-54. Served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Mysore He served as Vice-President of India from May 13, 1967 to 1969. He was Acting President from 3.5.69 to 20.7.69 after the death of Dr.Zakir Hussain.  V.V.Giri was elected to the Office of the President and was sworn in on 24.8.69. He held office till 24.8.1974. He was awarded the 'Bharat Ratna' in 1975. V.V.Giri passed away in 1980.

Varahagiri Venkatagiri Date of Birth

: Aug 10, 1894

Date of Death

: 1980

Place of Birth

: Orissa

Tenure Order

: Aug 24, 1969

Took Office : Aug 24, 1969Left Office : Aug 24, 1974

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was President of India of 1974 to 1977. He was educated at St. Stephen's College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and subsequently became an active member of the Congress Party. He was chosen for the presidency by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974, becoming the second Muslim President in Delhi. He would later use his constitutional authority as head of state to allow her to rule by decree once emergency rule was proclaimed in 1975. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was sworn in as President on August 24, 1974 and held that office till his death on 11th February, 1977. He died while in office.

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Date of Birth

: May 13, 1905

Date of Death

: Feb 11, 1977

Place of Birth

: Delhi

Tenure Order

: 5th President

Took Office : Aug 24, 1974Left Office : Feb 11, 1977Successor : Neelam Sanjiva

He was born on September 10, 1912 at Savalgi, Bijapur district of Karnataka. He was Chief Minister of Mysore State during 1958-62. He was Vice-President of India from 1974 to 1979. B.D.Jatti held the Office of the President of India temporarily from February 11, 1977 to July 25, 1977.

B.D.Jatti 

Date of Birth

: Sep 10, 1912

Date of Death

: -

Place of Birth

: Karnataka

Tenure Order

: Feb 11, 1977

Took Office : Feb 11, 1977Left Office : Jul 25, 1977Successor : -

Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the sixth President of India, was a veteran statesman and administrator. He held many eminent positions in public life both before and after independence. Born in a peasant family at Illuri village in the Anantapur District (Andhra Pradesh) on May 19, 1913, Shri Sanjiva Reddy had his early education at the Theosophical High School at Adyar in Madras and later joined the Arts College at Anantapur. The degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws was conferred on Shri Sanjiva Reddy by the Sri Venkateshwara University in 1958.Shri Sanjiva Reddy married Shrimati Nagarathnamma on June 8, 1935 and they had one son and three daughters.

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy Date of Birth : May 19, 1913Date of Death

: -

Place of Birth : Andhra PradeshTenure Order : 6th PresidentTook Office : Jul 25, 1977Left Office : Jul 25, 1982Successor : -

Giani Zail Singh, was born on May 5, 1916 in village Sandhwan in Faridkot District in a family of artisans, taken to agriculture. His father Sardar Kishan Singh owned about fifty-six acres of land which was intershared by Giani Zail Singh and his two brothers. He comes from common stock and was born in a mud house in a remote village having no pull or patronage. Giani Zail Singh was elected to the highest office of the President of India on July 15, 1982 and took the oath of office on July 25, 1982. Giani Zail Singh believes in the efficiency of politeness in expression and penetrative understanding of human relations and problems. This has, however, never impaired his firmness on basic principles of approach and the fundamentals of the policy and programmes. A refined sense of humour, backed by his intense love for children and the suffering humans in all parts of the country, is his inbuilt safeguard against tensions and malice in his public conduct.

Giani Zail Singh 

Date of Birth : May 5, 1916Date of Death : Dec 25, 1994Place of Birth : FaridkotTenure Order : July 25, 1982Took Office : Jul 25, 1982Left Office : Jul 25, 1987Successor : R.Venkataraman

Born on December 4, 1910 in the village of Rajamadam, Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu, Shri Venkataraman married Smt Janaki Venkataraman in the year 1938. They have three daughters. Educated locally and in the city of Madras, Shri Venkataraman obtained his Master Degree in Economics from Madras University. He later qualified in Law from the Law College, Madras. Shri Venkataraman was enrolled in the High Court, Madras in 1935 and in the Supreme Court in 1951. Shri Venkataraman was elected Vice-President of India in August, 1984. He was, simultaneously, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), the Second Chamber of the Indian Parliament. As Vice-President of India, he was Chairman of the Jury for the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding and of the International Jury for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,. Having been elected to the Office of the President of India, Shri Venkataraman was sworn in on July 25, 1987. He is the Eighth President of the Republic of India.

R.Venkataraman 

Date of Birth

: Dec 4, 1910

Date of Death

: -

Place of Birth

: Tamil Nadu

Tenure Order

: 8th President

Took Office : Jul 25, 1987Left Office : Jul 25, 1992Successor : -

Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma was an Indian scholar and politician, most notable for serving as President of India from 1992 until 1997. Sharma studied in Britain as a young man. He attended Cambridge University and Oxford University. He was a bar-at-law from Lincoln's Inn and taught law at Cambridge University in 1946-47. He took his M.A. degrees in English literature, Hindi and Sanskrit. Shankar Dayal Sharma was married to Vimala Sharma. Sharma served as Vice-President until 1992, when he was elected President. After a difficult campaign, he received 66% of the votes in the electoral college, defeating George Swell. During his five-year term, he was active in ceremonial matters and was in charge of dismissing and appointing governors. During the last five years of his life, Sharma suffered from ill health. On October 9 1999, he suffered a massive heart attack and was admitted to a hospital in New Delhi, where he died. He was cremated near the Vijay Ghat.

Dr.Shanker Dayal Sharma

Date of Birth : Aug 19, 1918Date of Death

: Dec 26, 1999

Place of Birth : IndiaTenure Order : 9th PresidentTook Office : Jul 25, 1992Left Office : Jul 25, 1997Successor : K.R.Narayanan

Sh.K.R.Narayanan assumed office as President of India on July 25, 1997. Shri Narayanan was born on October 27, 1920 in the village of Uzhavoor in Kottayam district, Kerala. Shri Narayanan received his education from the University of Travancore where he obtained an M.A. degree in English Literature standing first in the University. Later, he obtained B.Sc. (Econ.) degree from the London School of Economics with First Class Honours specialising in Political Science. Shri Narayanan started his career as a Lecturer in the University of Travancore (1943). Later he took to journalism and worked with The Hindu, Madras (now Chennai) and Times of India, Bombay (now Mumbai - 1944-45).

K.R.Narayan

Date of Birth : Oct 27, 1920Date of Death : -Place of Birth : KeralaTenure Order : July 25, 1997Took Office : Jul 25, 1997Left Office : Jul 24, 2002Successor : -

Dr. A.P.J. Adbul Kalam, the twelfth President of India, is rightfully termed as the father of India's missile technology. He was born to parents Jainulabdeen Marakayar and Ashiamma on 15th October, 1931, at Dhanushkodi in Rameshwaram district, Tamil Nadu. Specialized in Aero Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology, he initially worked in DRDO in 1958 and then joined ISRO in 1963. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has been awarded Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and Bharat Ratna in 1997.

Dr. A.P.J. Adbul Kalam 

Date of Birth : Oct 15, 1931Date of Death : -Place of Birth : Tamil NaduTenure Order : July 25, 2002Took Office : Jul 25, 2002Left Office : -Successor : -

Pratibha Patil was born to Narayan Paglu Rao on 19th December 1934 at Nadgaon, Maharashtra. She studied at R.R. School at Jalgaon. She received her M.A. from Mooljee Jaitha (M.J.) College, Jalgaon and obtained a law degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai and practised as an advocate in Jalgaon. Coming from a humble family, her father was a public prosecutor. From social work, she joined the cogress and was elected to the Maharashtra Assembly in 1962 for the first time. Three years later, she married Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat, a maratha of Rajasthani origin. From 1972 to 1978, Patil was a cabinet minister in Maharashtra. She later became the 24th Governor of Rajasthan and, notably, was also the first female governor of this state. And now, she has become the first female President of India on July 25, 2007 and also she is the first maharashtrian to hold this post. She is the proud mother of a son and daughter.

Pratibha Patil 

Date of Birth

: Dec 19, 1934

Place of Birth

:Nadgaon, Maharashtra

Took Office

: Jul 25, 2007

13th President of India

Incumbent

Assumed office25 July 2012

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari

Preceded by Pratibha Patil