List of people from Thalassery

This is a list of notable people from Thalassery (IPA: [t̪laʃeɾi]; formerly Tellicherry^[2]), a commercial town^[1] on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India. The town is bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kodagu (Karnataka).

Notable residents

• M K Vainu Bappu (1927–1982), president of the International Astronomical Union who jointly discovered the Wilson-Bappu effect and who helped establish several astronomical institutions in India including the Vainu Bappu Observatory and the modern Indian Institute of Astrophysics.^[1]
• Mambally Bapu, an entrepreneur who started Kerala's first bakery unit on Christmas Day in 1880.^[2][3]
• Captain Edward Brennen (?-1859), English philanthropist and Master Attendant at Tellicherry port who established the Brennen School, now Government Brennen College, Thalassery.^[4][5]
• M.V. Devan, noted painter, sculpturer, and former Chairman of Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi.^[6]
• Hermann Gundert (1814–1893), German missionary and scholar whose works in Malayalam during his 20-year residence in Thalassery include the first school text book, the first dictionary, and the first newspaper, Rajyasamacharam.^[7][8]
• Moorkoth Kumaran (1874–1941), teacher, short story writer, and the first biographer of Sree Narayana Guru.^[9]
• Keeleri Kunhikannan (1858–1939), martial arts trainer and gymnast, known as the father of Kerala Circus.^{[10][11][12][13]}
• William Logan (1841–1914), a Scottish historian whose works are considered some of the most reliable historical references of North Malabar by governments and universities.^[14]
• O Chandu Menon (1847–1899), author of Indulekha,^[15] the first significant (or top selling)^[16] modern Malayalam classic novel.^[17]
• C. V. Narayanan Nair (1905–1944), one of the main leaders in the revival of martial art Kalaripayattu.^[18]
• Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar (1861–1914), author of the first Malayalam short story, Vasanavikriti.^[19]
• K. Raghavan, composer of Malaylam film music who won the Padma Shri award.^[20][21]
• Veera Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (1753–1805), leader of resistance in the Cotiote War with the English East India Company.^[22]
• Wing Commander Moorkoth Ramunni IFAS (1914–2009), the first Keralan pilot and first chief trainer of India's National Defence Academy.^[23][24][24]
• N Prabhakaran, writer who won a Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.^[25]
• Mattannoor Sankarankutty (M.P. Sankarankutty Marar), Chenda percussionist who won the Padma Shri award.^[26][27]
• Prof. M.N. Vijayan(1930–2007), orator and writer.^[28]

References