Quick Info→
Age: 80 Years Hometown: Coimbatore Wife: Ranganayakiammal
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu [1]The Times of India |
| Profession(s) | • Engineer • Inventor • Businessman |
| Names Earned | • Miracle Man • Edison of India [2]Andhra Cultural Portal |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 175 cm in meters– 1.75 m in feet & inches– 5’ 9” |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper (Semi-bald) |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 23 March 1893 (Thursday) |
| Birthplace | Kalangal village, Coimbatore District, Madras Presidency, British India (now Tamil Nadu, India) |
| Date of Death | 4 January 1974 (Friday) |
| Place of Death | Tamil Nadu |
| Age (at the time of death) | 80 Years |
| Death Cause | Age-related ailments [3]YouTube – Films Division |
| Zodiac sign | Aries |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Coimbatore |
| School | Studied till 3rd standard |
| College/University | Did not attend |
| Food Habit | Vegetarian [4]YouTube – Films Division |
| Hobbies | Photography |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status (at the time of death) | Married |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Ranganayakiammal |
| Children | Son– G.D. Gopal
Daughter– None |
| Grandchildren | Grandson– G.D. Rajkumar (businessman)
Granddaughter– Shantini (Owner of The Grand Regent Hotel, Coimbatore) |
| Parents | Father– Gopalsamy (farmer) Mother– Name Not Known |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | He owned several cars with unique mechanical features. [5]GeDee Car Museum |
Some Lesser Known Facts About G. D. Naidu
- G. D. Naidu was an Indian inventor and businessman, who was known for being a self-taught engineer. He was also known as “the wealth creator of Coimbatore.” He was a school dropout. He had made noteworthy contributions to many fields including electrical, mechanical, agricultural, and automobile engineering.
- He was also referred to as ‘Adhisaya Manidhar’, which means ‘miracle man.’
- He belonged to a family of farmers in Kalangal village, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
- When he was studying in school, he used to get in trouble a lot as he did not like attending classes. So, when he was in 3rd standard, he dropped out of school.
- After quitting school, he began working at a ginning mill in a village near Sulur, Tamil Nadu.
G. D. Naidu in his youth
- He became interested in machines and automobiles at the age of 16, when he was working at his father’s crop field and noticed a British revenue officer’s 1912 model Rudge motorcycle. Later, he moved from Kalangal village to Coimbatore in search of jobs to purchase a motorcycle.
- Later, he began to work as a waiter at a hotel in Coimbatore. After working there for more than three years, he purchased his first motorcycle. He dismantled it and then reassembled it after which he began to work as a mechanic.
G. D. Naidu’s first motorcycle
- In 1920, he bought an automobile coach and began to transport passengers between Pollachi and Palani cities in Tamil Nadu. A few years later, he founded his company named Universal Motor Service (UMS) and started his own transport business. His company became of the top transport companies in India which 0wned a convoy of public transport vehicles. In 1933, his company had about 300 buses. UMS had the first bus junction in India.
- The only Rolls-Royce car available in India at that time was owned by him, which he received as a gift.
G. D. Naidu with the dismantled Rolls Royce 20 HP
- He was the first Indian businessman, who hired a Britisher in his company as an employee.
- He invented more than 90 gadgets and devices such as super-thin shaving blades, a distance adjuster for film cameras, a fruit juice extractor, a tamper, a proof vote, a recording machine, and a kerosene run fan.
Some of the inventions done by G. D. Naidu
- He was one of the first Indians, who invented ball pen, ball pen refills and carbon paper.
- In 1935, he went to London in England to attend and capture King George V’s funeral ceremony in his camera.
- He was a photography enthusiast and had taken pictures of many famous personalities including Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, and Subhash Chandra Bose. He also used to take pictures of his company’s employees and other people. When he was on a trip to Germany, he visited the factories of some of his favourite camera companies including Leica, Minox, and Rolleiflex and spent a lot of time there.
A photo of Adolf Hitler taken by G. D. Naidu in 1936
- In 1936, he invented a voting machine. In 1941, he made an announcement that he could manufacture a radio set with five-valve worth only seventy rupees per set in India.
- He contested the 1936 provincial general elections; however, he did not win.
- In 1937, he developed the first indigenous motor in India with the collaboration of D. Balasundaram Naidu, an electrical engineer.
- Apart from electrical and mechanical fields, he made significant contributions to the field of agriculture also. In 1941, he began his research on various crops on a 40-acre farm at Podhanur, Tamil Nadu. He founded new varieties of cotton, maize, and papaya. His farm was visited by many famous scientists including C. V. Raman, an Indian physicist, and M. Visvesvaraya, an Indian Civil Engineer.
- In 1944, he began to work as a philanthropist and provided research grants for research scholarships. He started to work for the betterment of the oppressed classes in society. He introduced welfare schemes for the employees of his company and other lower-class people.
- In 1945, he founded Arthur Hope Polytechnic in Coimbatore, which is the first polytechnic institute of India. He also served as the first principal of the institute. In the same year, he established an engineering college named Arthur Hope College of Engineering in Coimbatore and served as the first principal of the college.
Arthur Hope College of Engineering in Coimbatore
- He stepped down from the position of the principal, when his suggestion of decreasing the duration of the four-year programs to two years, as he considered it a waste of students’ time, was not accepted by the British government.
- In 1946, he created Industrial Labour Welfare Association (now known as G.D. Naidu Charities), where he began to train students with hands-on practice and make them ready for jobs. In the 1950s and 60s, he provided jobs to many people in the engineering field and more.
- One of his most popular inventions was the Rasant razor, which was one of the first electric razors.
Rasant razor, the world’s first electric razor
It worked using a small electric motor operated by dry cells. His company, UMS Razor Company, won 3rd prize for the Rasant razor at the Leipzig Fair in Germany.3rd prize won by UMS Razor Company
- In 1950, in an interview, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist C. V. Raman, commended him for his inventions and achievements and said,
It would need an abler pen than mine to sketch in a few words a picture of the remarkable man that Mr G.D. Naidu is and to indicate his great character and most varied achievements.”
- In 1952, he launched a two-seater petrol engine car worth 2000 rupees. He began to produce engine cars, but the production had to be stopped because the government did not grant the necessary license for the manufacturing.
- The cheap houses made by him in a duration of only one day were also popular in the 1960s. The first cheap house built by him, from laying the foundation of the house till its completion, was built in eleven hours, from 6 am to 5 pm. He trained people for constructing cheap houses.
Cheap House Construction Training Centre in Coimbatore
- He worked and performed many experiments in the field of medicine. He was interested in the Siddha system of medicine.
- In 1967, G. D. Naidu Science Museum Industrial Exhibition was established in Coimbatore as a tribute to him and his works.
G. D. Naidu Science Museum Industrial Exhibition in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
- The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) named the G. D. Naidu Young Scientist Award after G. D. Naidu. This award is given to students of VIT for their exceptional work in the mechanical engineering and research field.
- A non-profitable public organization named Makkal Sinthanai Peravai in Erode, Tamil Nadu, gives G. D. Naidu Award every year to an outstanding young researcher working in India.
- In 2015, M. A. Palaniappan released a book titled ‘Athisaya Vignani G.D. Naidu’ in the Tamil language, which was based on the life story of G. D. Naidu.
Poster of the Tamil book ‘Athisaya Vignani G.D. Naidu’
- ‘GD Naidu – The Edison of India,’ a documentary film directed by K. Ranjithkumar, won Best Science & Technology Film Award at the 66th National Film Awards on 9 August 2019. The documentary film was screened at many film festivals including the Indisches Film Festival 2019 in Germany.
Poster of the 2019 documentary film ‘GD Naidu – The Edison of India’
- G. D. Naidu was an automobile enthusiast and had an interest in collecting cars. On 27 April 2015, G. D. Gopal, his son, established the Gedee Car Museum to showcase his father’s car collection. His car collection involved many vintage cars including Benz Motorwagon, Ford T, Volkswagen Beetle, Citroen – 2 CV, and Mini.
Car collection of G. D. Naidu at GeDee Car Museum in Coimbatore
- Chandra Gopal, his daughter-in-law, runs G. D. Matriculation Higher Secondary School and GEDEE Public School in Coimbatore, which were named after G. D. Naidu.
- G. D. Rajkumar, his grandson, named his company Geedee Industries after his grandfather.
- In April 2023, R. Madhavan, an Indian actor and director, made an announcement that he would direct and portray the character of G. D. Naidu in the biopic based on the life story of G. D. Naidu.
Poster of the Hindi film ‘G. D. Naidu’
- He was spotted smoking on various occasions.
G. D. Naidu smoking a cigarette
References/Sources:[+]
| ↑1 | The Times of India |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Andhra Cultural Portal |
| ↑3, ↑4 | YouTube – Films Division |
| ↑5 | GeDee Car Museum |