Timeline: Life and career of Bharat Ratna APJ Abdul Kalam

Here is a timeline of APJ Abdul Kalam's life and career as India's pre-eminent defence scientist and one of the country's most popular president.

Former president and Bharat Ratna APJ Abdul Kalam, who would have turned 84 in October, died after suffering a massive cardiac arrest at the IIM-Shillong on Monday evening.

Former-president-and-eminent-scientist-Dr-APJ-Abdul-Kalam-at-a-press-conference-for-the-Agni-missile-project-in-New-Delhi-on-May-26-1989-Kalam-passed-away-on-July-27-2015-at-the-age-of-83-after-collapsing-during-a-lecture-at-IIM-Shillong-Santosh-Gupta-HT-file-photo

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among a host of dignitaries who paid tribute to Abdul Kalam’s body after it was carried in a special flight from Guwahati to Delhi on Tuesday.

Here is a timeline of his life and career as India's pre-eminent defence scientist and one of the country's most popular president.