This is a list of famous and notable people from Tamil Nadu state in India include persons who are known to a large number of people and is not based on the extent of their popularity. Neither is the list viewed from the context of the present. Their fame could be brief, what matters is that they were well-known during the peak of their popularity.

Contents 1 Administrators and Heads of State 1.1 Presidents of the Indian Union 1.2 Governor-General of India 1.3 Dewans of Princely States 2 Indian Independence Movement 3 Political Leaders 3.1 Chief Ministers of Madras province, state and Tamil Nadu 3.2 Ex-Ministers in the Union government 3.3 Ministers to the Union of India 4 Defence (India) 4.1 Army 4.2 Air Force 4.3 Navy 5 Award Winners 5.1 Nobel Laureates 5.2 Ramon Magsaysay Award 5.3 Bharat Ratna 5.4 Padma Vibhushan 5.5 Padma Bhushan 5.6 Padma Shri 5.7 Param Vir Chakra 5.8 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 5.9 Arts, Music & Literature 5.10 Arjuna Award 6 Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 7 Eminent Scholars 7.1 Academicians 7.2 Agriculture 7.3 Botanists 7.4 Computer Science 7.5 Finance & Economics 7.6 Mathematics 7.7 Medicine 7.8 Scientists 7.9 Zoologist 8 Arts & Music 8.1 Tamil Music 8.2 Carnatic Music 8.3 Film Music 8.4 Western Music 8.5 Classical Dance 9 Cinema 9.1 Directors 9.1.1 Music Composers 9.1.2 Other Entertainers 9.2 Sports & Games 9.2.1 Carrom 9.2.2 VolleyBall 9.2.3 Chess 9.2.4 Cricket 9.2.5 Basketball 9.2.6 Football 9.2.7 Hockey 9.2.8 Kabaddi 9.2.9 Racing 9.2.10 Tennis 9.3 Cultural Icons 9.3.1 Tamil Language Icons 9.3.2 Spiritual Icons 9.4 Literature 9.4.1 Classical Literature 9.4.2 Spiritual Literature 9.4.2.1 Hindu 9.4.2.2 Christian 9.4.2.3 Islam 9.4.3 Modern literature 9.5 Crime 9.6 See also 9.7 References

Administrators and Heads of State

Presidents of the Indian Union

• Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, 2nd President of India.
• Ramaswamy Venkataraman (born 1910), 8th President of India (July 25, 1987 – July 25, 1992).
• A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (born 1931), 11th President of India (July 25, 2002 – 2007).

Governor-General of India

• C. Rajagopalachari (1878–1972), Only Indian Governor General of India (1948 - January 26, 1950), Writer & Statesman.

Dewans of Princely States

• Ramayyan Dalawa, Dewan of Travancore from 1737 to 1756.
• Sir A. Seshayya Sastri (1828-1903), Indian administrator. Dewan of Travancore from 1872 to 1877 and Pudukkottai from 1878 to 1894.
• Ramiengar, Dewan of Travancore from 1881 to 1887
• Sir K. Seshadri Iyer, longest serving Dewan of Mysore state.
• Shungrasoobyer, Dewan of Travancore from 1892 to 1898.
• P. Rajagopalachari, Dewan of Cochin from 1897 to 1901 and Travancore from 1904 or 1906 to 1914.
• Sir V.T.Krishnamachari - Dewan of Baroda.
• R. K. Shanmukham Chetty, Dewan of Cochin from 1931 to 1945.
• Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer (1879-1966), Advocate General of State of Madras in the 1920s, penultimate Dewan of Travancore
• Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, last Dewan of Mysore state.

Indian Independence Movement

• Puli Thevar, Polygar chieftain who fought the British East India Company in the 1750s and 1760s. First general of Tamil origin to fight against the British.
• Kattabomman (1760-1799), Polygar chief of Panchalakurichi who fought the British in the First Polygar War. He was captured by the British at the end of the war and hanged.
• The Maruthu Pandiyar brothers Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu who fought the British in the First and Second Polygar Wars.
• Dheeran Chinnamalai (1756-1805), Polygar chieftain and feudatory of Tipu Sultan who fought the British in the Second Polygar War.
• Sir S. Subramania Iyer (1842-1925), lawyer, jurist and theosophist who co-founded the Home Rule Movement along with Annie Besant, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He is affectionately called Grand Old Man of South India.
• G. Subramania Iyer (1855-1916), Freedom fighter and founder of "The Hindu" English newspaper.
• V.O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872–1936), independence fighter, who launched the first Indian ship on Indian waters under British Rule.
• V. V. S Iyer (1881-1925) Tamil scholar and freedom fighter.
• Subramanya Bharathy (1882-1921), Indian freedom fighter, Tamil poet and social reformer. Often regarded as the national poet of Tamil Nadu.
• V. Kalyanasundaram (1883–1953), Scholar and independence fighter
• Subramaniya Siva (1884-1925), Freedom fighter and close associate of Bharathi and V.V.S.Iyer
• Sir P. S. Sivaswami Iyer
• Sathyamurthy (1887-1943), Indian freedom fighter and leader of the Congress party in the erstwhile Madras presidency.
• Vanchinathan (1886-1911), Patriot who killed General Ash and committed suicide at Maniyachi.
• Kalki Sadasivam (1902-1997), Freedom fighter and husband of famous singer M.S. Subbulakshmi.
• Tiruppur Kumaran, independence fighter
• Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar (1908–1964), independence fighter and All India Forward Bloc Leader.
• Lakshmi Sehgal (1914-), Head of Rani Jhansi Brigade, women's wing of the INA and a close associate of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. Presidential candidate in 2002 President's election.
• Janaki Thevar

Political Leaders

Chief Ministers of Madras province, state and Tamil Nadu

• A. Subbarayalu Reddiar, Premier of Madras Presidency from December 1920 to July 1921.
• P. Subbarayan, Premier of Madras from 1926 to 1930.
• P. T. Rajan, Premier of Madras in 1936.
• C. Rajagopalachari, Premier of Madras (1937 to 1940) and Chief Minister of Madras state from 1952 to 1954.
• O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar, Premier of Madras 1947 to 1949.
• P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja, Premier of Madras 1949 to 1952.
• K. Kamaraj, Chief Minister of Madras state from 1954 to 1962
• M. Bhaktavatsalam, Chief Minister of Madras state from 1962 to 1967.
• C. N. Annadurai,Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1967 to 1969.
• M. Karunanidhi,Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu 1969-1977, 1988-1991, 1996-2001, 2006-present.
• M. G. Ramachandran,Actor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 to 1987.
• V. R. Nedunchezhiyan,Former Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu and Former Intermin Chief minister of Tamil Nadu
• Jayalalithaa Jayaram,Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu 1991-1996, 2001-2006.
• O. Paneerselvam Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu May 14, 2001 and September 21, 2001

Ex-Ministers in the Union government

• C. Subramaniam (1910–2000), Former Union Minister, Bharat Ratna Awardee & Father of the Indian 'Green Revolution'.
• R. K. Shanmukham Chetty (1892–1953), first Finance Minister of independent India.
• Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, Eminent Lawyer, Former Union Minister & Congress/BJP Leader. Son of Mohan Kumaramangalam.
• K. Santhanam (1895–1980), Freedom Fighter & the First Railway Minister of independent India.
• T. T. Krishnamachari (1899–1974), Industrialist & Indian Finance Minister 1956–1958 and 1964–1966, resigning from the position twice.
• Aravinda Bala Pajanor, (born 1935) Senior Advocate, Former Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas, Chemicals & Fertilizers, and one of the first non-congress and dravidian party members from Tamil Nadu along with Satyavani Muthu to be part of the Union government.

Ministers to the Union of India

• P. Chidambaram (born 1945), Minister of Home Affairs, India.
• Mani Shankar Aiyar (born 1941), Minister of Panchayat Raj, Youth Affairs, Sports and North East Region India.
• A. Raja,Minister of Communications and Information Technology India.
• Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister of Health and Family Welfare India.
• T. R. Baalu,Minister of Shipping, Highways and Road Transport India.
• S. S. Palanimanickam, Minister of State for Finance, India.
• K. Venkatapathy, Minister of State for Law and Justice, India.
• S. Regupathy, Minister of State for Forests and Environment(Independent Charge), India.
• E. V. K. S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Textiles of India.
• G. K. Vasan, Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation(Independent Charge), India.
• R. Velu, Minister of State for Railways, India.
• V. Radhika Selvi, Minister of state for Home Affairs, India.

Defence (India)

Army

• General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam (1913–2000), 7th Chief of Army Staff (June 7, 1966–June 7, 1969).

• General Krishnaswamy Sundararajan (1930–1999), 14th Chief of Army Staff (February 1, 1986–April 30, 1988).

• General Sundararajan Padmanabhan (born 1940), 20th Chief of Army Staff (September 30, 2000–December 31, 2002).

Air Force

Navy

• Admiral Sushil Kumar, 18th Chief of the Naval Staff (December 30, 1998–December 29, 2001).
• Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas

Award Winners

Nobel Laureates

• Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, for Physics - 1930.
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, for Physics - 1983.
• venkatraman Ramakrishnan, for chemistry - 2009

Ramon Magsaysay Award

The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in April 1957 in memory of Ramon Magsaysay, the late president of the Philippines. It is often considered to be Asia's Nobel Prize.

• M. S. Swaminathan, for Community Leadership - 1971.
• M.S. Subbulakshmi, for Public Service - 1974.
• R. K. Laxman, for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts - 1984.
• Aruna Roy, for Community Leadership - 2000.
• V Shanta, for Public Service - 2005.

Bharat Ratna

The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian honour.

• C. V. Raman for Science & Engineering 1954.
• C. Rajagopalachari for Public Affairs 1954.
• S. Radhakrishnan for Public Affairs 1954.
• K. Kamaraj for Public Affairs 1976 (Posthumous).
• M. G. Ramachandran for Public Affairs 1988 (Posthumous).
• A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for Science & Engineering 1997.
• C Subramaniam for Public Affairs 1998.
• M.S. Subbulakshmi for Arts & Music 1998.

Padma Vibhushan

The Padma Vibhushan is India's second highest civilian honour.

This is not a complete list, please add/modify.

• Naryana Raghvan Pillai for Public Affairs 1960.
• A. Lakshmanasamy Mudaliar for Medicine 1963.
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar for Science & Engineering 1968.
• Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar for Civil Service 1970.
• B. Sivaraman for Civil Service 1971.
• T. Swaminathan for Civil Service 1973.
• M. S. Subbulakshmi for Arts 1975.
• T. Balasaraswati for Arts 1977.
• M. S. Swaminathan for Science & Engineering 1989.
• A. P. J. Abdul Kalam for Science & Engineering 1990.
• Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer for Arts 1990.
• V. Arunachalam, for Literature & Education 1990.
• Lakshmi Sahgal for Public Affairs 1988.
• DK Pattammal for Arts 1999.
• R. Chidambaram for Science & Engineering 1999.
• R.K. Narayan for Literature & Education 2000.
• K. Kasturirangan for Science & Engineering 2000.
• R.K. Narayan, for Literature & Education 2000.
• C.V. Narasimhan for Civil Service 2001.
• C. Rangarajan for Literature & Education 2002.
• R.K. Laxman for Arts 2005.
• Raja Jesudoss Chelliah, for Public Affairs 2007.
• Balu Sankaran, for Medicine 2007.
• V. Krishnamurthy, for Civil Service 2007.
• Viswanathan Anand, for Sports 2008.

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Shri is India's third highest civilian honour.

Padma Shri

The Padma Shri is India's fourth highest civilian honour.

Param Vir Chakra

The Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military honor.

• Major Ramaswamy Parmeshwaran (1946–1987), Awarded in 1987 (Posthumous) for IPKF operations in Sri Lanka.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India's highest sporting honour.

• Vishwanathan Anand, for Chess (1991–1992).
• Dhanraj Pillay, for Hockey (1999–2000).

Arts, Music & Literature

• Akilan, Jnanpith Award, (1975).
• Jayakanthan, Jnanpith Award, (2002).
• Subbu Arumugam, Sangeet Natak Akademi award, (2005).
• R. K. Narayan,Sahitya Akademi.

Arjuna Award

The Arjuna Award was instituted in 1961 by the Government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in national sports.

Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

• Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar, Industrialist, Philanthropist & Educator who established Annamalai University.
• Raja Sir Muthiah Chettiar, Industrialist, Philanthropist and First Mayor of Madras.
• RM.Alagappa Chettiar (1909–1957), Industrialist, Philanthropist & Educator who established Alagappa University.
• M. A. Chidambaram, Industrialist.
• PollachiN.Mahalingam Gounder, Educator, Industrialist and Philanthropist.
• Kalanidhi Maran, Media Baron.
• Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar, Industrialist, Philanthropist & Educator.
• Dr.M.A.M Ramasamy Chettiar, Industrialist, Philanthropist and Pro-Chancellor of Annamalai University.
• Shiv Nadar, Chairman HCL Technologies.
• B Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel.
• Dharmaveera K Govindaswamy Naidu, Industrialist & Philanthropist
• K. G. Baalakrishnan, Chairman and Managing Director KG Group of companies, Coimbatore
• S. Anantharamakrishnan (1905-1964), Indian industrialist and business tycoon. First Indian director of Simpson and Co. and later, Chairman of the Amalgamations Group.
• Arvind Sanmugam,Chairman and CEO of Chez Leeloo Canada, Chairman and Managing Director of Chez Leeloo India, Chairman and President of Tan Theta, CEO of Canadian Peacemakers Corporation, Chairman and CEO of Baronair,Chairman of World Police Academy, Internationally acclaimed poet and author of numerous works on Dravidians, Chairman of Sinecure Corporation, Philanthropist.
• Indra Nooyi (b. 1955), CEO of Pepsico.
• S. N. N. Sankaralinga Iyer (b. 1901), Founder, India Cements (now part of Sanmar Group), Chennai.
• V. Seshasayee, Founder of Seshasayee Group
• Arvind Raghunathan - Managing Director and Head of Global Arbitrage, Deutsche Bank
• T. V. Sundram Iyengar - Founder of T.V.S. group (automobile and finance)
• Venu Srinivasan - Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company (Two and Three Wheelers)
• Mallika Srinivasan - Director and CEO ,TAFE
• K. B. Chandrashekar
• Ayya Nadar, founder Ayyan Group of Companies
• S. P. Adithanar, founder of Dina Thanthi
• R. G. Chandramogan, founder of Arun Icecreams
• P. Rajagopal, founder of Saravana Bhavan
• Selvarathinam, founder of Saravana Stores
• H. Vasanthakumar of Vasanth & Co and Vasanth TV
• V. G. Panneerdas, founder of the VGP Group of Companies
• M. G. Muthu, founder and owner of MGM Group of Companies

Eminent Scholars

Academicians

• Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, Mayor of Madras (1928-30), Vice Chancellor of University of Kerala(1951-61),Travancore.
• Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar, First Indian principal of the Madras Medical College and Longest serving Vice Chancellor of the University of Madras.
• V.L Ethiraj Mudaliar, Founder of Ethiraj College for Women
• Malcolm Adiseshiah (1910–1994), Economist, Former Deputy Director General of UNESCO & founder MIDS (Madras Institute of Development Studies).
• V C Kulandaiswamy, An eminent Educator and Technologist. Formerly Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, IGNOU & Tamil Virtual University.
• Mu.Varadharasan, Outstanding Tamil Scholar, Winner of Sahithya Academy award and Ex-Vice-Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University.
• Sivaraj Ramaseshan (1923–2003), Distinguished Scientist & ex-Director of the IISc.
• M. Anandakrishnan, Chairman, Madras Institute of Development Studies & Formerly Vice-Chancellor of Anna University.
• Arjun Appadurai, Contemporary Social theorist, Educator & Founder of the School of International Relations, JNU, New Delhi.
• M Lakshmanan An eminent Microbiologist, Former Vice Chacellor of Madurai Kamaraj University & Ex-President of Association of Microbiologists of India.
• Dr. V.C.Balasubramaniam - Director, Institute of Pathology, MMC,

• Dr.M Murugesh Mudaliar, Principal, BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore.

• Dr.T Kuthalingam An eminent Scientist and Technologist, Former Vice Chacellor of Madurai Kamaraj University.

• Dr.H.S.S. Lawrence, An eminent Educator who was formerly Director of School Education, Tamil Nadu and UNESCO Expert to Government of Afghanistan. He is known as the Architect of Tamil Nadu Higher Secondary Education and Father of Vocational Education in Tamil Nadu

Agriculture

• M. S. Swaminathan, A great Agricultural Scientist and is the Scientific Father of Green Revolution in India.

Botanists

• Ganapathi Thanikaimoni (1938–1986), often referred as Thani was widely known for his manifold contributions to the science of Palynology.

Computer Science

• Madhu Sudan (born 1966), Computer scientist, professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

• Arogyaswami Paulraj (born 1944) Wireless Engineering, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. A pioneer of wireless smart antenna technology and also credited to be the father of Indian military sonar technology during his earlier career in India.
• Siva Kumar , Computer scientist, professor of computer science at the Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay and chairman of IIT Computer Centre.

Finance & Economics

• C. Rangarajan, Economist & Ex-Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1992–1997).
• C.K. Prahalad, Management Expert & Professor at the University of Michigan Business School.
• Marti Subrahmanyam, Finance Expert & Professor at New York University (NYU) & Board of Directors of Infosys & ICICI.
• Bala V. Balachandran, Management Expert & Professor at the Kellogg School of Management.
• Ravi Jagannathan, Economist & Professor at the Kellogg School of Management.
• Lakshman Krishnamurthi, Marketing Expert & Professor at the Kellogg School of Management.
• H.V.R.Iyengar, Ex-Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1957–1962).
• S. Jagannathan, Ex-Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1970–1975) and Executive at the World Bank & IMF.
• M. Narasimham, Banker, Ex-Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1977) and Executive at the World Bank & IMF.
• S. Venkitaramanan, Ex-Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1990–1992).
• T. N. Srinivasan (born 1933), Economist and the Samuel C. Park, Jr. Professor of Economics at Yale University.
• Raghuram Rajan, Ex-Chief Economist, IMF.
• V.G. Narayanan, Management Expert & Professor at the Harvard Business School.

Mathematics

• Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan (1887–1920), Brilliant 20th century Mathematician.
• Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai (1901–1950), well known for his work in Number theory.
• Kollagunta Gopalaiyer Ramanathan (1920–1992), known for his well-recognized achievements in Number theory.
• C. S. Seshadri, Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute and Trieste Awardee.
• S.R. Srinivasa Varadhan - Mathematician & Fellow of the Royal Society
• M. S. Narasimhan, Mathematician & Fellow of the Royal Society (1996)
• M. S. Raghunathan, Mathematician & Fellow of the Royal Society
• C. P. Ramanujam (1938–1974), worked on number theory and algebraic geometry.
• T.S.Vijayaraghavan (1902–1955), Worked on Pisot-Vijayaraghavan number.
• Ravindran Kannan, Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at Yale University. Joint winner of the 1991 Fulkerson Prize in discrete mathematics for work on the volumes of convex bodies.

Medicine

• Rangaswamy Srinivasan ultraviolet excimer laser / LASIK. inventor at IBM Research.
• V.S. Ramachandran, Neuroscientist; Director Professor at UC San Diego.
• S.S. Ratnam, Pioneer in Singapore in-vitro fertilisation.
• Ganapathi Thanikaimoni, Palynologist, French Institute of Pondicherry, awarded the Fyson Prize in Natural Science.
• Sundaram Ramakrishnan, Cancer researcher and Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
• Mohammed Rela, one of the World's top liver transplant surgeons at the King's College Hospital.
• R. Venkataswami, founder of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Stanley Medical College.
• Govindappa Venkataswamy, Founder of Aravind Eye Hospital
• Ravi Iyengar, Professor and founder of the Iyengar Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
• Mayilvahanan Natarajan, Orthopedic Surgeon and pioneer of limb salvage surgery in bone tumours.
• R. P. Shanmugam, Founder, Dept of Surgical Gastroenterology, Stanley Medical College, Cehnnai and the First to perform a Liver transplant in a Government Hospital in India.

Scientists

• Dr. Sukumar Devotta, Chemical Engineer by profession and Director of The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which shared The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 with Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.
• Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, 1930 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics.
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 1983 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics.
• Dr K. Kasturirangan, Former Chairman of ISRO and present director of National institute of advanced studies (NIAS).
• Dr.Raja Ramanna, Former Chairman of Dept. of Atomic Energy and presided over India's first nuclear test in 1974.
• Dr.P.K.Iyengar, Former Chairman of Dept. of Atomic Energy.
• Dr.M.R.Srinivasan, Former Chairman of Dept. of Atomic Energy.
• R. Chidambaram, Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister of India & ex-Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission.
• S.R. Ranganathan, Eminent librarian who devised the five laws of library science.
• Dr.A. Sivathanu Pillai, Defence Scientist and the CEO of the Indo-Russian Brahmos company, which developed and manufactures the world's one and only supersonic cruise missile.
• G. N. Ramachandran (1922–2001), one of the most important Indian scientists of the 20th century made major contributions to Biology and Physics.
• Ranjan Roy Daniel (1923–2005), Physicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research & ex-Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Space Science at ISRO.
• Venkatraman Radhakrishnan (born 1929) is an internationally renowned Space Scientist and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
• Mylswamy Annadurai (born 1958), Project Director of ISRO's Chandrayaan-1.
• R. V. Perumal, Former Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
• Vedhachalam, Former Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
• P. S. Veeraraghavan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
• Dr Krishnan. Associate Director,ISRO Inertial Systems Unit.
• S Ramakrishnan,Associate Director,Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
• Annamalai Pillai, Director,Satish Dhawan Space Centre
• M Natarajan ,Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister, DGR&D and Secretary, DRDO
• Dr. Krishnamurthy Sekhar, Chief Controller R&D (Implementation), DRDO
• Dr W Selvamurthy, Chief Controller R&D (Life Sciences) & R&D (Human Resources), DRDO
• G Elangovan, Chief Controller R & D (R&M),DRDO
• Mr.G.D.Naidu - Former Chairman of UMS and Scientist
• A. E. Muthunayagam, Former Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre& Chairman of Board of Governors, IIT Chennai.
• V.S. Arunachalam, ex-Defence Scientist DRDO & Professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
• Ramanuja Vijayaraghavan (born 1931), Physicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
• Poondi Kumaraswamy (1931–1988), Hydrologist and inventor of Kumaraswamy distribution.
• Subra suresh, Dean of School of Engineering, Massachuesetts Institute of Technology, USA.

Zoologist

• T N Ananthakrishnan, A distinguished Entomologist and Zoologist. Former Head of the Department of Zoology and founder director of the Entomology Research Institute, Loyola College, Chennai.

• Mahadeva Subramania Mani, A distinguished Entomologist, famous for his studies on high altitude Entomology.

Arts & Music

Tamil Music

• Muthu Thandavar, one of the Tamil Trinity
• Marimutthu Pillai, one of the Tamil Trinity
• Arunachala Kavi, one of the Tamil Trinity
• T M Soundararajan, Playback singer.

Carnatic Music

• Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer (1907-2003), singer of Carnatic music
• Madurai Mani Iyer (1912-1968), singer of Carnatic music
• Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman (1935-), Musician/mridangist
• Ganesh and Kumaresh, Violinists of international fame.
• Gopalakrishna Bharathi (1811-1896), Carnatic music composer.
• Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan (March 2, 1935 - September 8, 2008) - violinist.
• Lalgudi Jayaraman (1930-) - Carnatic Music composer and violinist.
• Maharajapuram Santhanam (1922-1991), Carnatic music composer and violinist.
• Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835), Composer. Formed the "Great Trinity of Carnatic Music" along with Thyagarajar and Shyama Shastri.
• Nithyashree Mahadevan (1973-), carnatic music singer. Granddaughter of singer D.K.Pattammal.
• D. K. Pattammal (28 March 1919 – 16 July 2009), Singer of Carnatic music.
• Shyama Shastri, Composer. Formed the "Great Trinity of Carnatic Music" along with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Thyagarajar.
• Thiagaraja (1767-1847), Composer of Carnatic music. Formed the "Great Trinity of Carnatic Music" along with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri.
• P. Unnikrishnan (born July 9, 1966) Carnatic vocalist and national award winning playback singer.
• Veena Dhanammal.
• E. Gayathri.
• M. S. Subbulakshmi (September 16, 1916 - December 11, 2004),Singer of Carnatic music, Barath Ratna award winner.
• Dr. N. Ramani.
• L. Athira Krishna
• T. Brinda.
• T. Muktha.
• T. Viswanathan.
• R. Vedavalli.
• Sirkazhi G. Sivachidambaram.
• Sanjay Subrahmanyan.
• T. M. Krishna.
• Seetha Rajan.
• Sudha Raghunathan Singer of Carnatic music, Padma Sri award in the field of Carnatic vocal music (2004)
• Nisha Rajagopalan

Film Music

• K. V. Mahadevan, Musician, Composer & Winner, National Film Award for Best Music Direction (1968) & (1980).
• M. S. Viswanathan, Musician & Composer.
• V.S.Narasimhan, Musician , renowned violinist , composer.
• Ilayaraaja (born 1943), Musician, Composer & Winner, National Film Award for Best Music Direction (1984), (1986) & (1989).
• A. R. Rahman (born 1967), Musician, Composer & Winner, National Film Award for Best Music Direction (1993), (1997), (2002) & (2003). Two oscar award winner
• Yuvan Shankar Raja, Musician, Composer & Best Musician in Cyprus Film Festival in 2006.
• Harris Jayaraj (born 1975) is a film composer from Tamil cinema.
• Mani Sharma Yanamandra (born July 11,Kumbakonam,Tamil Nadu) is a film composer from Tamil & Telugu cinema.
• Karthik raja is a film composer from Tamil cinema.
• Musiri Subramania Iyer(1899-975), Carnatic music singer and film actor; acted in the 1938 Tamil movie Tukaram
• Anuradha Sriram, Tamil playback singer.Her husband is also a musician
• S. P. Balasubrahmanyam (1946-) Singer. Holds the Guinness Record for maximum number of songs recorded as a playback singer.
• Hariharan (1955-) Hindi and Tamil playback singer.
• Krish, Tamil playback singer.
• Mahalaxmi Iyer, Prominent Hindi and Tamil playback Singer
• Naresh Iyer, Male Playback Singer in Bollywood and Kollywood
• Papanasam Sivan (1890-1973), Carnatic music composer and singer.
• Shankar Mahadevan, Music Director
• Usha Uthup (b. 1947), pop singer and female playback singer in Bollywood.
• Vijay Iyer, Jazz musician

Western Music

• Moksha, Heavy metal band from Chennai.

Classical Dance

• T. Balasaraswati.
• Kamala Lakshminarayanan.
• Padma Subramanyam.
• Rukmini Devi Arundale.

Cinema

Directors

• A.P. Nagarajan
• A. Bhimsingh
• A. R. Murugadoss
• Balu Mahendra (born 1946) Director, Cinematographer & Winner, National Film Award for Best Cinematography (1978) & (1983)
• Bharathiraja (born 1941), Winner, National Film Award for Best Screenplay (2001)
• Bhagyaraj
• Cheran
• C.V. Sridhar
• J. Mahendran
• K. Balachander (born 1930), Winner, National Film Award for Best Screenplay (1982)
• Mani Ratnam (born 1956) Multi National Film Award winner.
• B. Lenin, Winner, National Film Award for Best Directing (2002)
• Agaththian, Winner, [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_people_from_Tamil_Nadu&action=edit&section=43National Film Award for Best Directing & National Film Award for Best Screenplay (1997)
• Bala
• Dharani
• Parthiban
• R.K. Selvamani
• Selvaraghavan
• S. Shankar (born 1963)
• Vasanth
• Vikraman
• Kamal Hassan
• S.J. Suryah (born 1968)
• Kothamangalam Subbu , poet, lyricist, writer, actor and director
• Perarasu , poet, lyricist, writer, actor and director

Music Composers

• A.R.Rahman^[1]
• Illayaraja
• Yuvan Shankar Raja
• M.S.Viswanathan

Other Entertainers

• Aziz Ansari

Sports & Games

Carrom

• A. Maria Irudayam, World Carrom Champion & Arjuna Award winner for Carrom (1996).
• R. Arokiaraj, Carrom Champion.
• K. Radhakrishnan, Carrom Champion.
• B. Radhakrishnan, Carrom Champion.
• E. Mahimairaj, Carrom Champion.
• M. Natraj, Carrom Champion.
• A. Ponnarasi, Carrom Champion.
• G. Revathi, Carrom Champion.
• G.Raja, Carrom Champion.

VolleyBall

• A. Palanisamy, First Arjuna Award winner for volley ball (1961).
• G E Sridharan, Arjuna Award winner.
• Kumaran, played for Indian team and currently playing for IOB,Chennai.
• Sundaram, former setter for Indian team and Indian Overseas Bank,Chennai.
• Mangala Jeyabalan, former setter for Indian team.
• Muthuraj, played for Indian team and currently playing for Indian Bank, Chennai.
• Sayee Krishnan, played for Indian team and currently playing for Indian Bank, Chennai.
• Pradeep John, represented India in Asian Games 2006 as part of Beach Volleyball.
• Mohan Poothanathan, represented India in Asian Games 2006 as part of Beach Volleyball.
• Sivaraman, played for Indian team and considered the best back row attacker during his playing time.
• Natarajan J, playing currently for India and IOB, Chennai. Also the captain of the Tamil Nadu volleyball team.
• Sivabalan, played for India and currently playing for IOB, Chennai.
• Selvarasu, played for Indian junior team and currently playing for ICF, Chennai.
• Raj Mohan, played for Indian junior team and currently playing for ICF, Chennai.
• Kamaraj, represented Indian youth team which finished 2nd in the world championships.

 J.Ramesh.Represented Indian Senior team, Played for Hindustan Photo Films

Chess

• Viswanathan Anand, World Chess Champion and the first Indian to earn the title of Grandmaster.
• Manuel Aaron, The first Indian to earn the title of International Master.
• Murugan Thiruchelvam, Chess player from United Kingdom.
• Krishnan Sasikiran, Grandmaster & Arjuna Award winner for Chess (2002).
• S. Vijayalakshmi, Six time Women's national champion of India, the First Women Grandmaster from India & Arjuna Award winner for Chess (2000).
• S. Meenakshi, Women Grandmaster and sister of S. Vijayalakshmi.
• Aarthie Ramaswamy, Women Grandmaster and under-18 girls' World Chess champion.
• R. B. Ramesh, Grandmaster and National Champion of India.
• P. Mahesh Chandran, Grandmaster.
• Ramachandran Ramesh, Grandmaster & Winner of the 2002 British Chess Championship.
• Deepan Chakkravarthy, Grandmaster & Winner of the Asian Junior Championship at Colombo in 2002.
• G. B. Prakash, Grandmaster Elect.
• P. Konguvel, International Master.
• Lanka Ravi, International Master.
• S. Arun Prasad, International Master.
• S. Kidambi, International Master.
• K. Murugan, International Master.
• T. S. Ravi, International Master.
• V. Saravanan, International Master.
• T. N. Parameswaran, International Master.
• R. Balasubramanian, International Master.
• S. Poobesh Anand, International Master.
• M. R. Venkatesh, International Master.
• N. Sudhakar Babu, International Master.

Cricket

• Buchi Babu Naidu (died 1908)- Father of Indian Cricket in Chennai
• Cota Ramaswami (born 1896, presumed dead), represented India in both International Cricket & Tennis.
• M.J. Gopalan (1909–2003), represented India in both International Hockey & Cricket.
• C. R. Rangachari (1916–1993), Pace Bowler, Indian Cricket Team.
• C. D. Gopinath (born 1930), Batsman, Indian Cricket Team.
• S. Venkataraghavan (born 1945), ex-Captain of Indian Cricket Team and Test & ODI umpire.
• K. Srikkanth (born 1959), ex-Captain of Indian Cricket Team.
• T.A. Sekhar (born 1956), Pace Bowler, Indian Cricket Team.
• T. E. Srinivasan, Batsman, Indian Cricket Team.
• L. Sivaramakrishnan (born 1965), Spin Bowler, Indian Cricket Team.
• V. B. Chandrasekhar, Batsman, Indian Cricket Team.
• Bharat Arun (born 1962), Pace Bowler, Indian Cricket Team.
• Murali Kartik (born 1976), Spin Bowler, Indian Cricket Team.
• Sadagoppan Ramesh (born 1975), Batsman, Indian Cricket Team.
• Lakshmipathy Balaji (born 1981), Pace Bowler, Indian Cricket Team.
• Dinesh Karthik (born 1985), Wicketkeeper, Indian Cricket Team.
• Vignesh Venkatramam, (born 1984), Wicketkeeper - Batsman, Portslade Cricket Club, Sussex, England.
• Nasser Hussain (born 28 March 1968, Madras, India) a former Essex and England cricketer , Test captain.
• Bharat Reddy
• Woorkeri Raman

Basketball

• Palanikumar, represented National youth team which finished 2nd in the National championships.

Football

• Peter Velappan (born 1935), General Secretary of Asian Football Confederation and Member of FIFA Strategic Studies Committee & Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup.
• Peter Thangaraj, Olympion and the Goalkeeper of Indian football team that won the Gold Medal at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.
• Komaleeswaran Sankar, Only Indian FIFA Assistant Referee for the Football World Cup and have won the Asia’s 'Best Assistant Referee' award in 1999.
• Vikash Dhorasoo is a French professional football midfielder, who is currently without a club after being sacked from French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain. He has scored one goal in eighteen matches for the French national team, and he represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Hockey

• Vasudevan Baskaran, Captain of the Indian Hockey team that won Olympic Gold in 1980 Moscow Olympics and Arjuna Award winner (1979–1980).
• Dhanraj Pillay (born 1968), ex-Indian Hockey Captain, Arjuna Award winner (1995) and also winner of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (1999–2000).
• Mohamad Riaz, Olympion and Arjuna Award (1998).
• Adam Sinclair, Member of the Indian Hockey team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
• Raja, Member of the Indian Hockey team.
• Mathisan Selvananthan, Member of the Indian Hockey team.

Kabaddi

• Subbiah Rajarathinam, Captain of the Indian Kabaddi team that won the Gold in 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.

Racing

• Narain Karthikeyan, Coimbatore, India's first Formula 1 driver.
• S. Karivardhan, Coimbatore, Car Constructor and National Champion.
• N. Leelakrishnan, Coimbatore, 7 Times National Rally Champion.
• Naren Kumar, Coimbatore, 4 Times National Rally Champion.
• J. Anand, Coimbatore, 3 Times National F3 Grand Prix winner.
• R. Gopinath, Coimbatore, F3 National Champion and Founder of SpitFire Motorsports.
• B. Vijay Kumar, Coimbatore, Fiat Champion and LG sports founder.
• G. R. Karthikeyan, Coimbatore, 7 Times South India Rally winner and father of Narain Karthikeyan.
• Akbar Ebrahim, Chennai, 3 Times National F3 Grand Prix winner.

Tennis

• Vijay Amritraj, International Tennis Champion & Actor
• Anand Amritraj, International Tennis player.
• Ashok Amritraj, International Tennis player.
• Prakash Amritraj, International Tennis player.
• Mahesh Bhupathi, International Tennis player.
• Ramanathan Krishnan, International Tennis player.
• Ramesh Krishnan, International Tennis player.
• Nirupama Vaidyanathan, International Tennis player from Coimbatore.
• Jeevan Nedunchezhian- Tennis player, World number 17th under 18

Cultural Icons

• Thirumuruga Kirupananda Variyar, Scholarly Saint.
• Rukmini Devi Arundale, Bharatanatyam dancer & fonder of Kalakshetra.
• Balasaraswati, Bharatanatyam dancer.
• Alarmel Valli, Bharatanatyam dancer.
• Chitra Visweswaran, Bharatanatyam dancer.
• Padma Subramanyam, Bharatanatyam dancer.
• Medha Hari, Bharatanatyam dancer.
• Pithukuli Murugadas, Divine Musician who is know for his songs on Lord Murugan.
• K. B. Sundarambal, Actress/Singer.
• Sirkali Govindarajan, Vocalist and Carnatic Music exponent.
• Dr. Sirkali G. Siva Chidambaram, Vocalist and Carnatic Music exponent.

Tamil Language Icons

• Arumuka Navalar (1822–1879), Pioneer of Tamil Prose & Champion of Hinduism from Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
• Maraimalai Adigal, Tamil scholar & Activist.
• Rev.Father Xavier Thaninayagam Adigalar (1913–1980), from Jaffna, Sri Lanka, founder member of the International Association for Tamil Research.
• Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar, Tamil scholar & Researcher & Poet.
• U. V. Swaminatha Iyer (1855–1942), Pioneer of Tamil Popularly known as Tamil Thaatha.
• Thanthai Periyar, Popularly known for his rationalism
• Rajnikanth, One of the most popular Tamil Actors; born in Bangalore
• Annamalai Reddiyar, a Telugu but a great exponent of Tamil poetry.
• Rajakumar Gopalan, Inventor of THIRUTHAMIZH - India's pioneering word building board game in Tamil on the lines of SCRABBLE, and creator of many new Tamil words.

Spiritual Icons

• Alwars, There are 12 Alwars, who are devotees of Lord Vishnu and exponents of Vaishnavism.
• Nayanmars, There are 63 Nayanmars, who are devotees of Lord Siva and exponents of Saivism.
• Ramalinga Swamigal (1823–1873), popularly known as Vallalar.
• Ramanuja (1017–1137), Philosopher and one of the most important saint of Vaishnavism.
• Appayya Dikshidar (1520–1593), Philosopher, followed Advaita School of Indian Philosophy.
• Raghavendra Swami (1595-1671) advocated Vaishnavism (worship of Vishnu as the supreme God) and Sri Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy.
• Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950).
• Yogaswami (1872–1964), A Great Spiritual Leader from Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
• Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963), A well known proponent of Yoga and Vedanta.
• Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy (born 1924), Cardinal Priest of S Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri, Vatican City.
• Dayananda Saraswati, Founder of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam.
• Yogiraj Shri Vethathiri Maharishi, Founder of the The World Community Service Center, an organisation striving for World peace from 1911 and propagator of the famous blessing phrase of "Vaazgha Vaiyagam Vaazgha Valamudan" (வாழ்க வையகம் வாழ்க வளமுடன்) roughly translated as 'Be Blessed by the Divine'.
• Sri Nithyananda (born 1978), Founder of the Nithyananda Foundation.
• Bala Prajapathi Adikalar, the present Pattathu Ayya of Swamithope pathi and leader of Ayyavazhi religion.
• D. G. S. Dhinakaran, prominent Christian Evangelist and founder of Jesus Calls Ministries.
• Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,is a spiritual and humanitarian leader.
• Sri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, is the current spiritual leader of Raja Yoga and president of Shri Ram Chandra Mission which is active in more than 150 countries and recognized by United Nations.
• Sadhguru jaggi vasudev, is self realised person living in this century, founder of isha yoga which rejuvenating the people

Literature

Classical Literature

• Thiruvalluvar, Saint Poet & Author of Thirukural.
• Tholkaapiyar, Author of Tholkaapiam, one of the first Tamil grammar books.
• Illango Adigal, Saint Poet & Author of Silappathikaram.
• Srivilliputhurar, Author of Tamil Mahabharatham.
• Seethalai Saathanar, Author of Manimegalai.
• Kambar, Author of Kamba Ramayanam.
• Auvaiyar, Women Saint & Author of Aathichoodi.
• Tirutakakatevar, Author of Jivaka Chintamani.
• Eelattu Poothanthevanar, Classical Sri Lankan Poet of Sangam period.
• Ottakoothar,Author of Saraswathi Anthathi

Spiritual Literature

Hindu

• Nakkeerar Author of Thirumurugattupadai .
• Thirumular, Author of Thirumandhiram.
• Tiruvalluvar, Author of Thirukkural
• Arunagirinathar, Author of Thiruppugazh.
• Sekkizhar, Author of Periapuranam.
• Manikkavasagar, Author of Thiruvasagam & One of the Nayanmars.
• Nammalvar, Author of Tiruvaymozhi & One of the Alwars.
• Thirumazhisai Alvar, Author of Tiruchanda-virutham & One of the Alwars.
• Andal, Author of Tiruppaavai & One of the Alwars.
• Kambar,Tamil scholar Poet & Author of Kambaramayanam the Tamil version of Ramayana.
• Avvaiyar, Tamil Poet & Author of Aathichoodi and Konraiventhan
• Abirami Pattar , original name Subramaniya Iyer(late 1700s - early 1800s) - Poet & Author of Abhirami Anthadhi
• V. Akilesapillai, Tamil scholar Poet & Author of Thirukonasala Vaipavam from Sri Lanka.

Christian

• Henry A. Krishna Pillai

Islam

• Umaruppulavar (1605–1703), Author of Sirappuranam, Islamic spiritual work on the life of Muhammad.
• Mohammad Ibrahim, Author of Muhaidin Puranam, Islamic spiritual literature.

Modern literature

• Subramanya Bharathy (1882–1921), Nationalist Tamil Poet.
• Bharathidasan (1891–1964), Tamil Poet & Rationalist.
• Pudhumaipithan (1906–1948), Tamil Fiction Writer known for his Modern outlook and Progressive thinking.
• Prof. Karmegha Konar (1889–1957), Tamil Poet.
• Akilan, Novelist.
• Thi.Janakiraman, Novelist.
• Laa.Sa. Ramamirutham, Novelist.
• Kalki Krishnamurthy (1899–1954), Freedom fighter, novelist and journalist.
• Jayakanthan (born 1934), Writer & Novelist.
• Kannadasan (1927–1981), Popularly called as Kavi Arasu Poet, Film lyricist & Winner, National Film Award for Best Lyrics (1969).
• Vairamuthu (born 1953), Poet, Film lyricist & Winner, National Film Award for Best Lyrics (1986), (1993), (1995), (2000) & (2003).
• Indira Soundarajan, Novelist & Short story Writer.
• Ashoka Mitran (born 1931), Novelist & Short story Writer.
• R. K. Narayan (1906–2001), English novelist & Essayist.
• Koththamangalam Subbu, Poet.
• Sandilyan, Novelist.
• Pa. Vijay, Film lyricist & Winner, National Film Award for Best Lyrics (2005).
• Vaali, Film lyricist.
• Sujatha Rangarajan (May 3,1935 - Feb 27,2008), contemporary Tamil & Film screen play writer.
• Krishna Srinivas (born 1913), World Poet.
• Kaavya Viswanathan (born 1987), Novelist.
• Aravind Adiga

Crime

• Veerappan, Sandalwood smuggler and forest brigand.
• Auto Shankar

See also

• List of people by India state
• List of Tamil people (not necessarily from Tamil Nadu)

References