JRD Tata was born on 29 July 1904 in Paris in a Parsi family. He was the second son of Ratanji Tata and his French wife Suzanne Briere. He was initially educated in Paris and then at the Cathedral and John Canon School in Mumbai. In 1923, he went to England for higher education and returned and joined the Tata Group company with his father. In 1929, he renounced his French citizenship and adopted Indian citizenship.
In the year 1929, J.R.D.Tata was the first pilot's license in the country. In 1932, he founded Tata Airlines which later evolved into Air India. On 5th October 1932 J.R.D. Tata flew the country's first airline from Karachi to Madras. From 1932 to 1953, he was the chairman of Tata Airlines. In the year 1938, at the age of only 34 years, he was appointed as the chairman of the Tata Group Company. During his tenure he contributed to the development of Tata Group's steel, engineering, power, chemical and hotel industries. In 1945, he founded the Tata Motor Company to meet the growing demand for automobiles in the country. J. Tata Consulting Company was established in 1968 under the leadership of RD Tata.
J.R.D. Tata was awarded 'Padma Vibhushan' by the Government of India in 1955 and 'Bharat Ratna', the country's highest award in 1992, in recognition of Tata's services.
J.R.D. Tata died on 29 November 1993 at Geneva.
