Written by Naina Singh, a grade 6 student

Since 1962, Teacher’s Day is celebrated on the 5th of September. It is Dr. S. Radhakrishnan’s birth anniversary on this day.

He was the first Vice President, and the second President of India  He was a teacher at Mysore University and because he was widely known for his teaching qualities, this day came to be known as Teacher’s Day.

On becoming the President of India, he donated a large part of his salary to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund every month.

Who was Dr.Radhakrishnan

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on 5 September 1888 at a place called, Tiruttani, in Tamil Nadu. Despite not having enough money, Dr. Radhakrishnan completed his education, by getting scholarships.

He completed an MA in Philosophy and then taught at the Madras Presidency College. He went on to become the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University (from 1931 to 1936). After this, he became the Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1939.

Honours and Awards

Dr. Radhakrishnan was a  great scholar, who was very well-read and had deep knowledge. He got many honours in his life.

He was knighted in 1931, after which he was addressed as Sir S Radhakrishnan till the time India gained independence. Knighthood (pronounced night) is an honour given by the British king or queen as a recognition of his special achievements. People who are made knights are called Sir.

• In 1954, he was awarded Bharat Ratna.
• That year he also received the German “Order pour le Merite for Arts and Science”.
• In 1961 he was given the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
• In 1963, he got awarded the Order of Merit
• In 1975, he was given the Templeton prize for promoting the notion of “a universal reality of God that embraced love and wisdom for all people”.
• Dr. Radakrishnan donated the entire prize money to Oxford University.

Dr. Radhakrishnan said that “teachers should be the best minds in the country”