- Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya popularly known as Sir MV ( 15 September 1861 – 12 April 1962) was an Indian engineer, scholar, statesman, and the 19th Diwan of Mysore, who served from 1912 to 1918. He received India’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955.
- He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire(KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good. 15 September is celebrated as Engineer’s Day in India in his memory. He is held in high regard as a pre-eminent Engineer of India. He was chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam and chief engineer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.
- Sir M.V. was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1911. Sir M.V. was awarded honorary membership of the London Institution of Civil Engineers. He was awarded a fellowship of the Indian Institute of Science. He was awarded several honorary doctoral degrees including D.Sc., LL.D., D.Litt. from eight universities in India. He was president of the 1923 session of the Indian Science Congress. He has received recognition in many fields, most notably the education and the engineering sectors. Visvesvaraya Technological University which is based in Belagavi (to which most engineering colleges in Karnataka are affiliated) has been named in his honour, as well as prominent colleges like University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore, Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore and Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. College of Engineering, Pune, his alma mater, has erected a statue in his honour. The Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum in Bangalore is named in his honour.
Works of Sir M. Viswesvaraya
- Visvesvaraya, M (1920), Reconstructing India, P. S. King & son, ltd, OCLC 2430680
- Visvesvaraya, M (1936), Planned economy for India, Bangalore: Bangalore Press, OCLC 19373044
- Visvesvaraya, M (1951), Memories of my working life, Bangalore, OCLC 6459729
- Visvesvaraya, M (1932), Unemployment in India; its causes and cure, Bangalore: The Bangalore Press, OCLC 14348788
- Visvesvaraya, M (1917), Speeches, Bangalore: Govt. Press, OCLC 6258388
- A Brief Memoir of my complete working life, Government Press, Bangalore, 1959