J. R. D. Tata

J.R.D.Tata married Thelma Vicaji in 1930. The couple did not have any children.

He died at the age of 89 due to kidney infection.

He was born as the second child to an Indian father and a French mother in Paris, France, in 1904. He had one elder sister and two younger brothers.

He spent his childhood in France and attended the Janson De Sailly School in Paris. He also went to the French Foreign Legion, a unique military unit in the French Army.

He hailed from a wealthy family and was educated in France, Japan and India. He went to the Cathedral and John Connon School in Bombay.

In 1923, he went to England for higher studies and enrolled in a crammer school. During this time, a law in France required all young boys to draft in the army for at least one year.

He started his career as a member of the Squadron in a regiment called Le Saphis in the French Army. Being well educated young Tata knew how to speak, read and type in French and English—a detail that got him posted as a secretary in the office of the colonel.

After completing his one year of compulsory service in the French Army he wanted to go to Cambridge for further education, but fate had other plans for him.

His father, who had been working in Tata Company in India wanted his son to join him. He joined Tata & Sons as an unpaid apprentice in 1925.

Tata loved flying form a young age and had been greatly inspired by the pioneer Louis Bl�riot. He became an Indian citizen in 1929 and also obtained the first pilot license issued in India.

In July 1932, he formed the Aviation department of Tata & Sons which came to be known as Tata Airlines and later became Air India. It was once the largest airlines in the Indian subcontinent.

J.R.D.Tata served as the Chairman of the Tata Group for over a period of 50 years making it India’s best known global brand. More than being just a successful business, the group played a very active role in making the Indian society better.