Portrait of Ratan Tata

Birthday profile

Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata, Indian businessman and philanthropist (died 2024)

Born
December 28, 1937
Died
October 9, 2024
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1937

About Ratan Tata

Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 – 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012, and he held the position of the interim chairman from October 2016 to February 2017. In 2000, he received the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour in India, followed by the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian honour, in 2008. Ratan Tata was the son of Naval Tata, who was adopted by Ratanji Tata, son of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. He graduated from Cornell University College of Architecture with a bachelor's degree in architecture. He had also attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in 1975. He joined the Tata Group in 1962, starting on the shop floor of Tata Steel. He later succeeded JRD Tata as chairman of Tata Sons upon the latter's retirement in 1991. During his tenure, the Tata Group acquired Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, and Corus, in an attempt to turn Tata from a largely India-centric group into a global business. Throughout his life, Tata invested in over 40 start-ups, primarily in a personal capacity, with additional investments through his firm, RNT Capital Advisors. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012, and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to February 2017.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Ratan Tata timeline

  1. Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 – 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist.
  2. He joined the Tata Group in 1962, starting on the shop floor of Tata Steel.
  3. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012, and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to February 2017.
  4. He later succeeded JRD Tata as chairman of Tata Sons upon the latter's retirement in 1991.

The world when Ratan Tata was born

Ratan Tata was born in 1937. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1937

  • #1 song"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" – Ella Fitzgerald
  • Top movieSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Best-selling bookOf Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJoe Louis becomes heavyweight champion
  • Top headlineHindenburg zeppelin explodes in New Jersey
  • Technology milestoneGolden Gate Bridge opens in San Francisco
  • Defining fadSwing music
  • Notable inventionShopping cart
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population128.8M

1937 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ratan Tata's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19372026
Gas$0.20$3.45/gal
Average home$5,200$435,000
Average income$3,000$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population128.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.