Shankar Dayal Sharma was born on 19th August 1918 in Bhopal. A meritorious law student from Fitzwilliam College, Sharma was awarded the Chakravarti Gold Medal for Social Service by Lucknow University.
He later worked at the Cambridge University and Lucknow University. During his tenure in these universities, he was awarded a fellowship at the Harvard Law School and was elected Honorary Bencher and Master of Lincoln’s Inn and Honorary Fellow, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
While at Cambridge, Sharma was Treasurer of the Tagore Society and the Cambridge Majlis. During his tenure as Vice President of India he was Chancellor of many universities in India.
Sharma participated in the struggle for Indian independence and became a member of the Indian National Congress. In the year 1952, he became the Chief Minister of the former state of Bhopal.
Sharma served as a Communication Minister from 1974-77 in the cabinet of Indira Gandhi. Later, Sharma served as the Vice President of India until he was elected as the President of India in 1992.
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