विक्रम साराभाई Vikram Sarabhai

Life and career

  1. 1919 · Born in Ahmedabad. Born on 12 August 1919 into a Gujarati Jain family. His father Ambalal Sarabhai was an industrialist who backed the freedom movement and supported Mahatma Gandhi. (Wikipedia: Vikram Sarabhai · President of India: Address at the valedictory of the Sarabhai centenary (25 September 2020))
  2. 1937 · Gujarat College and Cambridge. After Gujarat College in Ahmedabad he went to Cambridge in 1937. He took the Natural Sciences Tripos at St John’s College in 1940. (President of India: Address at the valedictory of the Sarabhai centenary (25 September 2020) · IIM Ahmedabad Archives: Vikram Sarabhai · Britannica: Vikram Sarabhai)
  3. 1940 · Cosmic rays with Raman. The war kept him in India. He researched cosmic rays under C. V. Raman at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. There he became friends with Homi Bhabha. (Britannica: Vikram Sarabhai · President of India: Address at the valedictory of the Sarabhai centenary (25 September 2020))
  4. 1942 · Marriage and Darpana. He married the classical dancer Mrinalini on 3 September 1942. She founded the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad in 1949. He is counted among its co-founders. (Wikipedia: Vikram Sarabhai · IIM Ahmedabad Archives: Vikram Sarabhai)
  5. 1947 · Doctorate and the Physical Research Laboratory. He returned to Cambridge in 1945 and completed his thesis in 1947. Back home he started a laboratory in his house. The Physical Research Laboratory was formally founded on 11 November 1947 with K. R. Ramanathan as its first director. He founded the textile research body ATIRA the same year. (Britannica: Vikram Sarabhai · Wikipedia: Physical Research Laboratory · Wikipedia: Vikram Sarabhai)
  6. 1961 · Building IIM Ahmedabad. He lobbied for Ahmedabad when Mumbai was the first choice. He drafted its founding memorandum and won pledges from local industry led by Kasturbhai Lalbhai. IIMA was founded on 11 December 1961. He served as its honorary director from June 1962 to August 1965. (IIM Ahmedabad: Dr. Vikram A. Sarabhai · IIM Ahmedabad Archives: Vikram Sarabhai)
  7. 1962 · INCOSPAR. After Sputnik he persuaded the government that India needed space research. The Indian National Committee for Space Research was set up in 1962 on his recommendation with him as chairman. He sent young engineers to NASA for training that year. (President of India: Address at the valedictory of the Sarabhai centenary (25 September 2020) · Wikipedia: Indian Space Research Organisation · Scroll.in: The Vikram Sarabhai years, from Ever Upwards: ISRO in Images (18 November 2019))
  8. 1963 · The first rocket from Thumba. He chose Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram because it lies close to the magnetic equator. A church became the first laboratory and parts were moved by bicycle. A two-stage Nike-Apache lifted off on 21 November 1963. He also set up a space science centre on Veli Hills nearby. (Wikipedia: Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station · The Better India: Transported on a bicycle, launched from a church (8 November 2016) · Scroll.in: The Vikram Sarabhai years, from Ever Upwards: ISRO in Images (18 November 2019))
  9. 1966 · Atomic Energy Commission. Homi Bhabha died in an air crash in January 1966. Sarabhai succeeded him as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. He received the Padma Bhushan the same year. (Britannica: Vikram Sarabhai · Wikipedia: Homi J. Bhabha · IIM Ahmedabad Archives: Vikram Sarabhai)
  10. 1967 · Satellite links and a home-made rocket. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were broadcast by satellite. He quickly set up an experimental satellite earth station in Ahmedabad that began work in 1967. India’s first self-designed rocket the RH-75 flew from Thumba on 20 November 1967. (Scroll.in: The Vikram Sarabhai years, from Ever Upwards: ISRO in Images (18 November 2019) · Wikipedia: Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station)
  11. 1968 · Thumba dedicated to the UN. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dedicated the Thumba range to the United Nations on 2 February 1968. Sarabhai used the occasion to say India must be second to none in applying technology to its real problems. In August he addressed the UN conference on outer space in Vienna. (Wikipedia: Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station · Current Science: Pramod Kale, Vikram Sarabhai – Visionary motivator (25 April 2020))
  12. 1969 · ISRO and the NASA agreement. He created the Indian Space Research Organisation on 15 August 1969. On 18 September he signed an agreement with NASA for a satellite television experiment. He also began work on a launch vehicle and the Sriharikota range. (Scroll.in: The Vikram Sarabhai years, from Ever Upwards: ISRO in Images (18 November 2019) · Wikipedia: Satellite Instructional Television Experiment · President of India: Address at the valedictory of the Sarabhai centenary (25 September 2020))
  13. 1971 · Death at Kovalam. He died in his sleep on 30 December 1971 at Halcyon Castle in Kovalam. He was 52. Earlier that day he had watched a Russian rocket launch and laid the foundation stone of Thumba railway station. He was cremated in Ahmedabad. (Wikipedia: Vikram Sarabhai · Britannica: Vikram Sarabhai · Business Standard: Who is Vikram Sarabhai · Scroll.in: The Vikram Sarabhai years, from Ever Upwards: ISRO in Images (18 November 2019))
  14. 1972 · Posthumous honours and first fruits. He received the Padma Vibhushan in 1972 and a stamp was issued on 30 December 1972. The Thumba complex became the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. Aryabhata flew in 1975 under the Soviet agreement he had finalised. SITE ran from August 1975 to July 1976. (IIM Ahmedabad Archives: Vikram Sarabhai · Wikipedia: Vikram Sarabhai · South First: Spare a thought for Bishop Peter Bernard Pereira (25 November 2023) · Scroll.in: The Vikram Sarabhai years, from Ever Upwards: ISRO in Images (18 November 2019) · Wikipedia: Satellite Instructional Television Experiment)
  15. 2019 · Centenary. For his 100th birthday ISRO named the Chandrayaan-2 lander Vikram and Google marked the day with a Doodle. President Ram Nath Kovind closed the centenary celebrations on 25 September 2020. (Wikipedia: Vikram Sarabhai · President of India: Address at the valedictory of the Sarabhai centenary (25 September 2020))

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