Aydın Sayılı (; 2 May 1913 – 15 October 1993) was a prominent Turkish historian of science. Sayılı's portrait is depicted on the

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of the Turkish 5

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

banknote issued in 2009.

Early life and education

Sayılı was born in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

on 2 May 1913. His parents were Abdurrahman Sayılı (1875–1954) and Suat Sayılı (1889–1951). He had two sisters. Sayılı graduated from Atatürk High School in Ankara in 1933. His career was aided by a chance meeting with

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

, whom he impressed enough to receive a state-supported scholarship to attend

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he studied the history of science. In 1942, Sayılı obtained a PhD degree in the history of science at

under the supervision of

George Sarton George Alfred Leon Sarton (; 31 August 1884 – 22 March 1956) was a Belgian-born American chemist and historian. He is considered the founder of the discipline of the history of science as an independent field of study. His most influential works ...

. His PhD thesis focused on the scientific institutions in the Islamic world and represented one of the first PhD theses written on Islamic studies in Harvard University.

Career

Sayılı began to work at the Department of Philosophy at Ankara University in 1943. He became associate professor in 1946 and full professor in 1952. He was promoted to be distinguished professor in 1958. Sayılı retired in 1983, and was appointed the head of the Atatürk Culture Centre in 1984. His term lasted until 1993. He also served as a member of the Turkish History Society and the International Academy of the History of Science.

Awards

In 1973, Aydın Sayılı was awarded by the Polish government with the Copernicus Medal for his work on the Polish astronomer

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...

. In 1977, he was decorated with the TÜBİTAK Service Award. In 1980 he was selected as a member of the International Editorial Committee of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. In 1981, he was awarded by

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

the Excellent Service Award and in 1990 he was decorated with the UNESCO Award for his lifetime achievements.

Death

Sayılı died of a heart attack in Ankara on 15 October 1993, aged 80. He was buried at Cebeci Cemetery in Ankara on 18 October 1993. 5 Türk Lirası reverse

Works

Sayılı's works have been published in Turkish, English, Arabic and Persian. * ''The Observatory in Islam'',

Arno Press Arno Press was a Manhattan-based publishing house founded by Arnold Zohn in 1963, specializing in reprinting rare and long out-of-print materials. History Zohn served 48 missions on a bomber crew during World War II, and when he returned home he ...

, June 1981, part of The Development of Science: Sources for the History of Science Series; * ''Abdülhamid İbn-Türk'ün katışık denklemlerde mantıkî zaruretler adlı yazısı ve zamanın cebri'' (''Logical necessities in mixed equations by ʿAbd al Ḥamîd Ibn Turk and the algebra of his time''); reprint of the ed. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1962, Inst. for the History of Arab-Islamic Science, Frankfurt am Main, 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayili, Aydin 1913 births 1993 deaths Harvard University alumni 20th-century Turkish historians Historians of science Middle Eastern studies scholars Academic staff of Ankara University Recipients of TÜBİTAK Service Award