* Abdul Kalam Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Devanagari: अब?द?ल क़लाम)(Tamil ?. பி. ஜே. அப?த?ல? கலாம?) (Urdu:ابدول کلام)(born October 15, 1931, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India), usually referred to as Dr. currently President, India
* S.R. Nathan, President, Singapore
* Ramaswamy Venkataraman, ex-President, India
* C. Rajagopalachari /Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (சக?ரவர?தி ராஜகோபாலாச?சாரி) (December 1878 - December 25, 1972), known as or Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, writer, statesman and a Hindu spiritualist. ex-Governor General of India; writer & statesman
Political Leaders
* CN Annadurai popularly known as Anna, ex-Chief Minister
* M. Karunanidhi Kalaignar Muthuvel Karunanidhi (generally referred to as M. Karunanidhi), (born June 3 1924) is one of the founder members and the present leader of the DMK party in Tamil Nadu, India. He is the president of the DMK party since 1969. He has been the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu four times (1969-71, 1971-76, 1989-91, and 1996-2001).
* Velupillai Prabhakaran (sometimes spelled Velupillai Pirapaharan) (born November 26, 1954) is the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an independence movement fighting for Tamil self-rule in North-East Sri Lanka. Prabhakaran was born in Velvettithurai, Sri Lanka. In 1972, at the age of 18, he founded an organization named Tamil New Tigers (TNT). In 1975, after becoming heavily involved in the Tamil protest movement, he was accused of assassinating the mayor of Jaffna.
Politicians
* Mani Shankar Aiyar Mani Shankar Aiyar (born April 10, 1941, Lahore) is an Indian politician. He has been a member of the Indian National Congress party. He is the Petroleum Minister in the Manmohan Singh government. He represents Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu in the 14th Lok Sabha. He attended The Doon School, studied economics in Delhi and Cambridge and served for 26 years in the IFS, the last five of which were on deputation to the Prime Minister’s Office under Rajiv Gandhi (1985-89).
* P. Chidambaram P. Chidambaram is the finance minister of India in the Congress-led UPA government (2004-2009). He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, the constituency from which he was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1984. He was minister of state for commerce and also for personnel from 1985 to 89 in Rajiv Gandhi's ministry and was minister of state for commerce with independent charge from 1991 to 1996 in the Narasimha Rao government.
* Murasoli Maran, Politician; ex-Industries Minister of India
* Dayanidhi Maran Dayanidhi Maran, currently a member of parliament and also Minister of Communications and IT of Government of India, was elected to India’s 14th Lok Sabha from Madras Central constituency. He is the son of the deceased leader Murasoli Maran.
* Kalanidhi Maran, Media Baron
* Chidambaram Subramaniam Chidambaram Subramaniam (commonly known as CS) (Jan. 30, 1910 - Nov. 7, 2000), known as the Father of the Green Revolution in India, held ministerial positions at the State and the Centre. He was conferred the Bharat Ratna in 1998. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 and was the Minister for Steel and Mines. Bharat Ratna Awardee & 'Father of the Indian Green Revolution'
* Subramanian Swamy Dr. Subramanian Swamy (b. 15 September, 1939 in Chennai; sometimes spelt as Subramaniam Swamy) is a politician from India. He is also a reputed economist and worked as Assistant Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Secretariat, New York in 1963. Association with Harvard He worked with two Nobel laureates, Simon Kuznets and Paul A.
* T.T. Krishnamachari, Industrialist & India's first Finance Minister
* S Jayakumar, Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore
* Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister of Education, Singapore (Sri Lankan Tamil ancestry)
* Vivian Balakrishnan Vivian Balakrishnan (born 1961) is the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports in Singapore. He is also the Second Minister for Trade and Industry. Balakrishnan was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School and the National Junior College. In 1980, he was awarded the President's Scholarship to study Medicine at the National University of Singapore. He then pursued post-graduate specialist training in Ophthalmology and was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1991 , Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Singapore (half-Tamil, half-Chinese)
* S Rajaratnam, ex-Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore (Sri Lankan Tamil ancestry)
* S Dhanabalan S Dhanabalan was a very important political leader in Singapore in the 1980s. He was appointed to several heavyweight cabinet positions in the 1980s and early 1990s under Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong. When then Prime Minister Lee was preparing for his successor, he identified a handful of Ministers he considered suitable for the job, including Tony Tan, Ong Teng Cheong, Goh Chok Tong and S Dhanabalan. ex-Minister (various portfolios), Singapore
* J. B. Jeyaretnam, ex-opposition leader, Singapore (Sri Lankan Tamil ancestry)
* Samy Vellu Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu (born 1936) was the Works Minister of Malaysia from 1979-1989 and he has been re-elected again in 2004. A chartered architect, Vellu was also the Government & Housing Minister from 1978 till 1979, and Minister Of Energy, Telecommunications & Posts from 1989 to 1995. works minister, Malaysia
Business icons
* Shiv Nadar Shiv Nadar, is the CEO of Hindustan Computers Limited HCL,a large information technology company in India. In the 2000 Forbes List of Billionaires, he was ranked the 126th richest person in the world with an estimated personal net worth $3.7 billion.
Nick named 'Magus' (Persian:Wizard).Nadar hails from the southern Indian region of Tamil Nadu ..... Click the link for more information. , Chairman & CEO of HCL & Forbes List of Billionaires * M A Chidambaram, Industrialist * Indra Nooyi, CFO of PepsiCo US * S. Ramadorai, CEO of Tata Consultancy Services * R. Chidambaram, Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister; ex-Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission * S Dhanabalan S Dhanabalan was a very important political leader in Singapore in the 1980s. He was appointed to several heavyweight cabinet positions in the 1980s and early 1990s under Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.
When then Prime Minister Lee was preparing for his successor, he identified a handful of Ministers he considered suitable for the job, including Tony Tan, Ong Teng Cheong, Goh Chok Tong and S Dhanabalan. ..... Click the link for more information. , Chairman, DBS Bank (Singapore) * J.Y.Pillay, Chairman, Singapore Exchange (stock market)
Scientists/Mathematicians
* Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan, Brilliant 20th century Mathematician
* Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, 1930 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics * Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (October 19, 1910 – August 21, 1995) was an Indian-American physicist, astrophysicist and mathematician, who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was an Tamil-Indian American, born in Lahore, British India (now Pakistan). He attended the Presidency College in Chennai (then Madras), where he graduated with a degree in physics. 1983 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics
* S.R. Ranganathan, Eminent librarian who devised the five laws of library science
* V.S. Ramachandran, Neuroscientist; Director Professor at UC San Diego
* C.K. Prahalad C.K. Prahalad is the Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration & Professor of Corporate Strategy and International Business at the University of Michigan. His research specializes in corporate strategy and the role and value added of top management in large, diversified, multinational corporations. Strategic Intent, Dominant Logic, Core Competence, Bottom of the Pyramid and Co-creation are among the concepts brought to the fore by him and are pre-dominant as his research interests. Management Expert; University of Michigan Business School
* Marti Subrahmanyam, Finance Expert; Professor at NYU & Board of Directors of Infosys & ICICI
* S.S. Ratnam Professor S. Shan Ratnam (1928 - 6th August 2001) was a Gynaecologist based in Singapore. A staunch Hindu, his nephew, Ananda Kumar, also gave significant contributions in his research fields. Born in Sri Lanka in 1928 to parents of Tamil descent, Ratnam graduated as a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Colombo in 1957. pioneer in Singapore in-vitro fertilisation
* Ganapathi Thanikaimoni Ganapathi Thanikaimoni (January 1, 1938 – September 6, 1986), often referred to as Thani was widely known for his manifold contributions to the science of palynology. He was married to Krishnaveni (aka Kitty) in 1970 and the couple had a son Ravindran (aka Ravi) and a daughter called Kirthana. Palynologist, French Institute of Pondicherry, awarded the Fyson Prize in Natural Science
Cinema
* M. Night Shyamalan M. Night Shyamalan (last name pronounced /ˈʃɑməˌlɑn/, born Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan, on August 6, 1970 in Pondicherry, India) is a screen writer and director. Hollywood Filmmaker (Half Tamilian: Father is Malayali and Mother is Tamilian)
* Gemini Ganesan Gemini Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005) was a famous Indian actor. He is well known as kadhal mannan (king of romance) of Tamil Cinema for the romantic roles he played in movies, and his private love affairs. Gemini Ganesan was born in a middle class orthodox brahmin family on 17 November 1920 in Pudukottai (in South India) to Ramaswami and Gangamma. He was the only male heir to his family.
* Illayaraja, Musician & Composer
* A.R. Rahman, Musician & Composer
* Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (b. November 7, 1954) is a famous Indian movie star working mainly in the Tamil film industry. He has, in his younger days, been a mainstream star in the Hindi film industry, otherwise known as Bollywood. 3-time National Award winning actor
* Mani Ratnam Mani Ratnam or Maniratnam (born 1956, Madras, India) is a leading movie maker (screen writer and director) of the Indian film industry. He was educated at Jamnalalal bajaj insitute of management, a noted management school in India. He got into film direction with the help of his late brother, film producer G. Venkateswaran. Leading Indian filmmaker
* Sivaji Ganesan Sivaji Ganesan (October 1, 1927 - July 21, 2001) was a famous Indian actor and politician. His real name was Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan. Ganesan was born in Sirkali, South Arcot district, Tamil Nadu, India. His parents were P. Chinniah Mandraayer and Rajamani Ammal. Actor
* Hema Malini Hema Malini (born October 16 1948 in Tamil Nadu) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who starred in several successful Bollywood films in the 1970s, most notably the super-hit, Sholay. She debuted in a 1968 film "Sapnon ka Saudagar", playing a young teen opposite the ageing superstar Raj Kapoor. She became one of the top stars of the 1970s. Her fans called her "The Dream Girl of Bollywood".
* Rekha Rekha (born October 10, 1954) is a well-known Bollywood actress. Born in 1954, in Madras, India, Bhanurekha Ganesan (later known simply as "Rekha") is the daughter of renowned Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan and the Telugu actress Pushpavalli. Her father hailed from an orthodox Smartha Brahmin family belonging to the Mulukanadu sub-caste but chose to take up acting as a profession. He enjoyed phenomenal success. Rekha was to follow in his footsteps.
Sports
* Narain Karthikeyan Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born January 14, 1977, Chennai, India) is a Formula One driver for 2005 with the Jordan team. He is often given the title of "The Fastest Indian in the World". Karthikeyan's interest in motorsport began at an early age, as his father was a former Indian national rally champion. Formula 1 driver
* Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand (pronounced Vis'wah'nəh'thən Ah'nənd) (born December 11, 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster. In the July 2005 FIDE Elo rating list, Anand has a rating of 2788, tying him and Veselin Topalov for number two in the world (behind Garry Kasparov). He has been the strongest non-Soviet player since Bobby Fischer, although recently Péter Lékó has rivalled him. World Chess Champion
* Vijay Amritraj, International Tennis Champion & Actor
* Srinivas Venkataraghavan, ex-Indian Cricket Captain and Test umpire
* Lakshmipathy Balaji, Cricketer
* Nasser Hussain, former English Cricket Captain
* Murugan Thiruchelvam, chess player
* Joshna Chinnappa, Squash player
* Dhanraj Pillay,Hockey player
Literature
* Thiruvalluvar, Tamil Author & Poet * Subramanya Bharathy, Tamil Poet * Bharathidasan, Tamil Poet & Rationalist * Prof. Karmegha Konar, Tamil Poet * R.K. Narayan, Noted Indian Author * R.K. Laxman, Famous Indian Cartoonist & Humorist * Philip Jeyaratnam, Singapore writer (also, President of Singapore Law Society) * Gopal Baratham, Singapore writer (also, leading neurosurgeon) * Edwin Thumboo, Singapore writer (Tamil father, Teochew Chinese mother) * G.U.Pope,Englishman who translated many tamil works in english
Other
* M.S. Subbulakshmi, Carnatic Singer, Bharat Ratna awardee - 'The Nightingale of India'
* Medha Hari, Bharatanatyam dancer * Shankaracharya of Kanchi, Hindu Seer & Spiritual preceptor * Varadharajan Mudaliar, known as Vardha Bhai; former prominent underworld kingpin * Veerappan, Sandalwood smuggler and forest brigand
Pseudo-Tamilians People who are not natives of Tamil Nadu, but who distinguished themsleves in Tamil Nadu
* M.G.Ramachandran,Malayali,ex-CM of TN; yesteryears actor * Thanthai Periyar, Kannadiga, Popularly known for his rationalism * J Jayalalithaa, Kannadiga, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; yesteryears actress * Rajnikanth One of the most popular Tamil Actors; born in Bangalore
------------ another list from tamilnation.org
Nominations
History & Social Science
1. Arasaratnam, Sinnappah - சின?னப?பா அரசரத?தினம? 2. Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. ஆனந?த க?மாரசாமி 3. Gunasegaram, S.J. க?ணசேகரம?, 4. Kanakasabaipillai, V 5. Kailasapathy, K. 6. Kirupanantha Variyar - கிர?பானந?த வாரியார? 7. Meenakshisundaram, T.P. 8. Nilakanta Sastri, K. 9. Ramasamy, Professor P 10. Rasanayagam, Mudaliyar C 11. Sivathamby, Dr.K. 12. Muthiah Sthapathi 13. Nagarajan Sthapathi 14. Tambiah, H.W 15. Tambiah, Stanley. J 16. Thambirajah, Prof. Dr. M. 17. Thaninayagam, Rev.Father. S. - தணிநாயக அடிகள? 18. Vaiyapuri Pillai, S. 19. Wilson, Professor A.J.
List of distinguished Tamils
