Vikram Sarabhai

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 31 December 1971) was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and varied. He married a classical dancer, Mrinalini (Swaminathan).

Biography

Early years and education

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was born on 12 August 1919 in the city of Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat in western India. The Sarabhai family was an important and rich Jain business family. His father Ambalal Sarabhai was an affluent industrialist and owned many mills in Gujarat. Vikram Sarabhai was one of the eight children of Ambalal and Sarla Devi.

To educate her eight children, Sarla Devi established a private school on the lines of the Montessori method which was gaining fame at the time. Since the Sarabhai family was involved in the Indian freedom struggle, many leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru used to frequent the Sarabhai house.

Sarabhai matriculated from Gujarat College in Ahmedabad after passing the Intermediate Science examination. After that he moved to England and joined St. John's College, University of Cambridge. He received the Tripos in Natural Sciences from Cambridge in 1940. With the...
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