Sir M. Visvesvaraya KCIE BR |
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Sir M. Visvesvaraya in his thirties
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19th Diwan of the Mysuru kingdom | |
In office 1912–1918 |
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Monarch | Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV |
Preceded by | T. Ananda Rao |
Succeeded by | M. Kantaraj Urs |
Personal details | |
Born |
Muddenahalli, Chickkaballapura, Kingdom of Mysuru (now in Karnataka), British India |
15 September 1861
Died | 12 April 1962 Bangalore, Mysuru State, India |
(aged 100)
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | College of Engineering Pune |
Profession | Civil Engineer |
Religion | Hinduism |
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, KCIE (popularly known as Sir MV; 15 September 1861 – 12 April 1962) was an Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysuru 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. 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 Mysuru (Now in Mandya district) as well as the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1861 in a Brahmin family, to Mokshagundam Srinivasa Shastry and Venkatalakshmamma in Muddenahalli village, Chikkaballapur District (Bifurcated from Kolar District), Mysore State (now Karnataka), India. His father was a noted Sanskrit scholar.
His ancestors hailed from a village named "Mokshagundam". It is a small village between Giddalur and Podili towns on State Highway 53 (Andhra Pradesh) in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.
Visvesvaraya lost his father at the age of 12. He enrolled for the primary school in Chikballapur and attended high school in Bangalore. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Central College, Bangalore then an affiliate of the University of Madras in 1881 and later studied civil engineering at the prestigious College of Engineering, Pune.