Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya,
KCIE (popularly known as
Sir MV; 15 September 1861 – 12 April 1962) was an Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the
Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918. He is a recipient of the Indian Republic'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. Every year, on his birthday, 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 the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the
Krishna Raja Sagara dam in
Mysore as well as the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of
Hyderabad.