Mahmoud Hessabi (or Hessaby, , 23 February 1903 – 3 September 1992) was an Iranian nuclear

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

. He was the minister of education in the cabinet of Prime Minister

Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh (, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 1950 Iranian legislative election, 16th Majlis. He was a membe ...

from 1951 to 1952.

Life

Hessabi was born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

to the family of Abbas and Goharshad Hessabi. His family's hometown is

Tafresh Tafresh () is a city in the Central District (Tafresh County), Central District of Tafresh County, Markazi province, Markazi province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Tafresh is located amidst high mountains sou ...

Markazi province Markazi province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Arak. The present borders of the province date to 1977, when the province was split into the current Markazi and Tehran provinces, with portions being annexed b ...

, Iran. His family moved to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

in 1907 when his father was appointed consul at the Iranian embassy. There Hessabi attended primary school. He was still in

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

when

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

started prompting the closure of his school and so Hessabi continued his education at home and in 1922, he earned a degree in road engineering from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

. After briefly working for the Ministry of Roads, Beirut, Hessabi travelled to

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 ...

for further education, where he was awarded a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at the École Superieure d'Electricité and later a doctorate degree in 1927. In Paris, he worked with

Aime Cotton Aime (; ) is a former commune in the Savoie ''département'' in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Aime-la-Plagne.University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

and organized the science and engineering faculties of the university. He was the teacher of

Alenush Terian Ālenush Teriān (; ; November 9, 1921 – March 4, 2011) was an Iranian-Armenian astronomer and physicist and is called 'Mother of Modern Iranian Astronomy'. Early life She was born on November 9, 1921, to an Armenian family in Tehran, Iran. H ...

while she studied at the university. In June 1951, Hessabi was appointed to a three-man provincial board of the Iranian oil company, the designated successor of the

Anglo-Iranian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...

. Dr. Hessabi led the nationalisation of the company and became its first CEO. In December 1951, he replaced Karim Sanjaby as minister of education. Between 1961 and 1969, Hessabi was Iran's representative on the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the

United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is a United Nations committee whose main task is to review and foster international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as to consider legal issues a ...

. During the congress honoring "60 Years of Physics in Iran," his services were celebrated, and he was dubbed "the father of modern physics in Iran."

Museum

In 1992 his house changed to a museum to for recognition of his life. The Mahmoud Hessabi museum is located

Tajrish Tajrish (, ) is a neighbourhood of Tehran, capital of Iran. Administratively it is in Shemiranat County, Tehran province and serves as the capital of the county. At one time a village, it was later absorbed into the city of Tehran. The Tajri ...

neighbourhood in

. The Hessabi family is part of Iran's Muslim elite. One of the capital's avenues is named after them, leading to a square with a statue of Dr. Hessabi. Mahmoud Hessabi had a son and a daughter. His son, an engineering graduate, is head of the Dr. Hessabi Institute (2015). Today, the majority of the family lives outside Iran, particularly following the

1979 Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

Selected works

* *

References

External links

Hessaby Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hessaby, Mahmoud 1903 births 1992 deaths Scientists from Tehran University of Paris alumni American University of Beirut alumni Government ministers of Iran 20th-century Iranian physicists Members of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature People from Tafresh Members of the Senate of Iran Recipients of the Legion of Honour 20th-century Iranian engineers

Life

Museum

Selected works

See also

References

External links