M. Visvesvaraya

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, KCIE (popularly known as Sir MV; 15 September 1861 – 12 April 1962) was an Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918. He is a recipient of the Indian Republic's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good. Every year, on his birthday, 15 September is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India in his memory. He is held in high regard as a pre-eminent engineer of India. He was the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore as well as the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.

Early years

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1860, into a Mulukanadu Brahmin (Smartha Brahmins)Telugu family to Mokshagundam Srinivasa Shastry and Venkatalakshmamma in Muddenahalli village, Chickkaballapur District,(Bifurcated from Kolar District ). 60 miles from Bangalore, Mysore State (now Karnataka), India. Visvesvaraya lost his father at the age of 12. He enrolled for primary school in Chikballapur and attended high school in Bangalore. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Central College, Bangalore then affiliate of the University of Madras in 1881 and later studied civil engineering at the prestigious College of Engineering, Pune.