Alagappa Chettiar
Sir Alagappa Chettiar (6 April 1909 – 5 April 1957) was an Indian businessman and philanthropist. He received the Padma Bhushan award (the third highest civilian award in India) in 1956. Early life Chettiar was born in Kottaiyur in the Sivaganga District of Tamil Nadu to K.V.AL. Ramanathan Chettiar and Umayal Achi. He attended Presidency College at Chennai, where he became friendly with Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a model teacher who later became President of India. In 1930 at the age of 21 he was the first M.A. (English Language and Literature) from the community of Nattukottai Nagarathars. After his graduation he went to England to study law. He qualified for the Bar at Middle Temple, London, in England in 1933 and became a 'Bar-at-Law' in Chettinad, India. During that time he also earned a pilot certificate at Croydon, London, and became the first Indian trainee in the Standard Chartered Bank, London. Business acumen Chettiar's activities as a business entrepreneur were acknowledged by the British Government when he was knighted in the 1946 New Year Honours at the age of 37; however, he renounced using the title of the knighthood when India attained independence. The President of India on 26 January 1956