Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, fondly called as the 'missile man' and 'People's President' died on Monday after he collapsed during a lecture at the IIM in Shillong on Monday evening.

Kalam, 83, was confirmed dead more than two hours after he was wheeled into the ICU of Bethany hospital in a critical condition following the collapse at around 6.30 pm.

Considered the most popular President, Kalam became the 11th head of the state and occupied the post between 2002 and 2007 but lack of consensus denied a second term in office for a man who came from outside political spectrum.

Born 15 October 1931 in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to humble parents, his father was a boat owner. APJ Abdul Kalam distributed newspapers at one time to support his family and his education.

He graduated with physics from the Madras University, went on to study aerospace engineering.

He was the DRDO, ISRO, chief scientific advisor to the prime minister in 1992, during the Pokhran 2 nuclear tests.

APJ Abdul Kalam will be always remembered as a president who brought Rashtrapati Bhavan to the people, earning him the tribute of the People's President.

He has uttered quite a few inspirational quotes and here are few for you:

"You have to dream before your dreams come true."

"Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended."

"If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun,"

"To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal."

"Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success."

"We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us."

May his soul rest in peace!