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

[2] Trần Đại Nghĩa was born Phạm Quang Lễ in Chánh Hiệp, Tam Bình commune, Vĩnh Long Province, to a poor but educated family on 13 September 1913.

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.

[4] 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.

[7] In 1950 Nghĩa left the military and began developing the industrial capacity of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam(DRV).