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Aydın Sayılı (; 2 May 1913 – 15 October 1993) was a prominent Turkish
historian of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...
. Sayılı's portrait is depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 5
lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...
banknote issued in 2009. He was the first
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
recipient in the world in the field of the history of science.


Early life and education

Sayılı was born in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
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 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...
, whom he impressed enough to receive a state-supported scholarship to attend
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, where he studied the history of science. In 1942, Sayılı obtained a PhD degree in the history of science at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
under the supervision of
George Sarton George Alfred Leon Sarton (; 31 August 1884 – 22 March 1956) was a Belgian-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 were ...
. 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 (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...
. 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 (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
. In 1981, he was awarded by
Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...
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.


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