15 Interesting Facts About JRD Tata

In this article, we will discuss some facts about Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhai Tata, i.e., JRD or “Jeh,” the former chairman of Tata Sons and the man who gave India’s aviation industry wings and the vision to fly high in the infinite sky.

JRD Tata facts

1. JRD Tata’s mother was a French woman by the name of Suzanne. Though after marriage, R. D. Tata, the father of JRD, gave his French bride a Parsi (Zoroastrian) name, Sooni.

2. JRD received his education in four countries: France, where he was born, India, Japan, and England.

3. Jehangir Tata was nicknamed L’ Egyptien by his teachers in Paris and “Frenchy” by his teachers in England because he spoke English with a strong accent. 

4. JRD Tata was a citizen of France until 1929. In fact, he even served as a soldier for close to a year in the French Army.

5. JRD had two brothers and two sisters. The sisters were Sylla and Robadeh, while the brothers were Jimmy and Darab.

The father of the Indian Civil Aviation, JRD Tata.

6. The elder sister of JRD Tata, Sylla Petit, was the first Indian lady to get her flying license in India. In fact, his younger sister, Robadeh, was the second Indian woman to get her pilot license in India.

7. JRD served as Chairman of Air India for 25 years (1953-1978). And for this, he never took a single penny from the government of India.

8. Besides the great Jamsetji Tata, a Scotsman by the name of Peterson was a major influence on JRD’s life.

9. Jehangir Ratan Tata was the father of India’s first domestic airline, The Tata Airlines, which later became Air India.

10. In May 1936, JRD lost his younger brother Jimmy in an aviation mishap. The latter died while he was just 21 years old.

11. In 1992, JRD Tata was bestowed with two awards. The first one is the Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India), India’s highest civilian award. The second was the bestowal of the United Nations Population Award for his pioneering and sustained efforts for family planning in India.

12. JRD Tata is the author of the book Keynote. In July 1986, it was released.

13. It was J. R. D. that helped the Sir Dorabji Trust approve Dr. Homi Bhabha’s proposal for the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the cradle of India’s atomic program.

14. If he hadn’t taken to flying, J. R. D. acknowledges that he would have loved to go into racing cars.

15. In January 1944, a comprehensive document entitled “A Plan of Economic Development for India” was published under the signatures of five eminent industrialists and three technocrats. J. R. D. Tata was one of the five industrialists (the others were  GD Birla, Sir Shri Ram, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, and Sir Purshotam Thakurdas). The technocrats were all from the Tatas:- Sir Ardeshir Dala; A.D. Shroff and Dr  John Matthai. The plan came to be known as the Bombay Plan or the Tata-Birla Plan.

I hope you like these facts related to JRD Tata. Thanks for reading. Jai Hind.

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