Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli (1888–1975)

Indian philosopher and politician. In 1946 he was chief Indian delegate to UNESCO, becoming its chairman in 1949. A member of the Indian assembly in 1947, he was appointed vice president 1952–62 and president 1962–67.

He was professor at the universities of Mysore, Calcutta, and Oxford, where he became Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics in 1936. He also lectured in the USA in 1926 and 1944, and in China in 1944. From 1931 to 1939 he was in Geneva as a member of the Committee of Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations. His Hibbert lectures of 1929 were published as an Idealist View of Life (1932). He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 1963.

Born in Riruttani, Tamil Nadu (formerly Madras state), he was educated at Madras Christian College. His scholarly philosophical works include Indian Philosophy (1927) and Eastern Religions and Western Thought (1939).