Trần Đại Nghĩa (13 September 1913 – 9 August 1997) was a Vietnamese scientist, military engineer, and prominent figure in the defense industry of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He held the rank of major-general and was recognized as both a military officer and an academician. He was awarded the

Order of Ho Chi Minh The Order of Ho Chi Minh () is a decoration of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that was first instituted on 6 June 1947. The creator of the order was the president Hồ Chí Minh. The Order of Ho Chi Minh is conferred or posthumously conferre ...

and honored as a Hero of Labor. He was also elected as an Academician of the former

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...

Early life

Trần Đại Nghĩa was born Phạm Quang Lễ in Chánh Hiệp, Tam Bình commune,

Vĩnh Long Province Vĩnh Long () is a province located in the Mekong Delta of southwestern Vietnam. Its capital is Vĩnh Long. Its population is 1,046,390 and its area is . Vĩnh Long (spelled 永隆 in the former Hán-Nôm writing system) is a Sino-Vietnamese na ...

, to a poor but educated family on 13 September 1913., He received a bachelor's degree in 1933 in Hanoi. After two years working in the U.S. embassy, he met journalist Dương Quang Ngưu who helped him obtain a Chasseloup-Laubat Fellowship to study in Paris. In 1935, he arrived in France and subsequently graduated with bachelors in engineering and mathematics having attended, among others, the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

. It's said that he tried to take 6 college degrees and certificates of the most famous universities of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He then went to work at the

École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

. In 1942, he moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he worked in various factories on the production of weapons and aircraft.

Revolutionary activities

Trần Đại Nghĩa met

Hồ Chí Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first president of the Democratic Republic ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1946 and returned to Vietnam with him on the ''SS Dumont de Urville'', joining the

Việt Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Vi ...

in the north of the country, where he participated in the organization of the production of weapons in the mountain forests. On 5 December 1946 he received from Ho Chi Minh his new ''revolutionary'' name, Trần Đại Nghĩa, and because of his military and technical knowledge was made chief of artillery of the

Vietnam People's Army Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. In 1947 he successfully tested his design for a domestically built

bazooka The Bazooka () is a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", th ...

, the first of many weapon systems that he devised for in-country manufacture. In 1948 he received the rank of major general, and the following year was then given the new position as Director of Military Research (now the Institute of Military Science and Technology). In 1950 Nghĩa left the military and began developing the industrial capacity of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam(DRV). In the years 1950 to 1960 he was Deputy

Minister of Industry and Commerce A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

. In 1952 he was given the title Hero of Labor and inducted into the

. On 6 March 1956 became the first rector of the

Hanoi University of Science and Technology The Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST; , formerly known in English as ''Hanoi University of Technology (HUT)'' until 2010) is the first and largest technical university and the most prestigious university in Vietnam. History Af ...

established in Hanoi. From 1960 to 1962 he was Minister of Heavy Industry. In 1965 he was appointed Chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology for Vietnam. Trần Đại Nghĩa died in

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

on 9 August 1997, at the age of 83.

Honors

In 1996, a year before his death, Nghia was awarded the Ho Chi Minh Award. In 2000, the

Tran Dai Nghia High School Tran may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Tran'' (novel), a novel in the ''Janissaries'' series named for a fictional planet * '' Dr. Tran'', an animated miniseries People * Trần (陳), a Vietnamese surname, including a list of people na ...

was named after him. in 2010, an ocean survey vessel was named after him. In 2013, the Vietnam Post issued a stamp honoring him on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Dai Nghia 1913 births 1997 deaths Vietnamese engineers Military engineers Firearm designers Generals of the People's Army of Vietnam Academic staff of Hanoi University of Science and Technology Vietnamese people of the Vietnam War People from Vĩnh Long province Recipients of the Order of Ho Chi Minh Foreign members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences 20th-century engineers Academic staff of École Polytechnique