Tagore was born in Kolkata on May 7, 1861, and was the youngest of 13 children.
He began writing poetry at the age of eight and published his first book of poems at the age of 17.
Tagore's family had a tradition of music, and he composed over 2,000 songs, which are known as Rabindra Sangeet.
Tagore was also an accomplished painter and his paintings were exhibited in Paris, London, and New York.
He was a staunch believer in the principles of non-violence and was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi.
Tagore was a vocal critic of British rule in India and renounced his knighthood in 1919 in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
He was a proponent of education and established the Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, which was based on the principles of a Gurukul system of education.
Tagore was a polyglot who was proficient in several languages, including Bengali, English, French, and German.
He was a prolific writer and authored over 2,000 poems, 8 novels, 40 plays, and numerous essays and short stories throughout his lifetime.