Mehmet Nadir Bey
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Mehmet Nadir (1856 – 13 December 1927) was a Turkish mathematician and educator.


Early life

He was born in Sakız island (modern Chios in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
) then a part of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, to a poor family. He was adopted by a sea captain, who would be his father-in-law in the future. He studied in the military high school in
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
. Then, he went to
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 ...
to study in the military college and then the naval academy. After completing his education with honours, he was appointed teacher of mathematics at the naval academy, and later at
Darüşşafaka High School Darüşşafaka High School () is a boarding, coeducational school in Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey, established in 1863. It was founded by the Darüşşafaka Society, recognized as Turkey's first civil society organization in the field of education. T ...
, one of the most prominent schools in Istanbul. In 1879, together with one of his friends, he travelled to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
for advanced studies. But the details of this period are not known. Probably, he also spent some time in
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
.Erdal İnönü: ''Mehmet Nadir'', Tubitak, Ankara 1997,


Educator

After returning to Istanbul, he began teaching in private high schools, and in 1884 he established a high school of his own. It was a junior high school (). Later, he added a senior high school section to his school (). Although there were private junior high schools before 1884, he was the founder of the very first private senior high school in Istanbul. This school is now considered as the core of the modern Istanbul High School for Boys (). He also added a section for the girls and a branch school in
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
. Another novelty he introduced was the first school newspaper in Istanbul.


Politics and later life

He secretly supported the
Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...
movement. But when Sultan Abdülhamit II arrested 350 Young Turk adherents on the charge of planning a coup in 1896, Mehmet Nadir was forced to resign. After working in a public school in Istanbul in 1903, he was appointed to
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
(now in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
) as the director of education. In 1908, Young Turks came to power and he was exiled to
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
(now in
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
) by the Young Turks, who suspected of his betrayal back in 1896. After the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
, in which
Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
invaded Libya, he returned to Istanbul. Although he was also sent to Edirne, he soon returned to Istanbul during the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
. After he convinced Young Turks of his innocence, he was appointed mathematics professor in the newly established Girls' University in Istanbul. In 1919 soon after the
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 ...
, he began serving in the Darülfünun (present day,
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 ...
) as a ''müderris'' (professor) of mathematics in the newly established branch of
Number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...
. He died on 27 December 1927.


As a mathematician

Mehmet Nadir is considered as one of the first mathematicians of Turkey.The list in Bilkent University page
/ref> He actively participated in a group of mathematicians of a
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
mathematics periodical named ''I’Intermediaire des Mathematiciens''. According to Professor
Erdal İnönü Erdal İnönü (6 June 1926 – 31 October 2007) was a Turkish theoretical physicist and politician who served as the interim prime minister of Turkey between 16 May and 25 June 1993. He also served as the deputy prime minister of Turkey from 1 ...
, a total of 62 papers of him were published in the periodical. One example cited by İnönü is as follows: The whole number solution to the equation :x^2+y^2-z^2=u^5 proposed by Mehmet Nadir is :x=b\cdot(a^2+b^2)\cdot (a^2-b^2) :y=\frac\cdot((a^2-1)\cdot(a^2+b^2)^2-4\cdot b^2) :z=\frac\cdot((a^2+1)\cdot(a^2+b^2)^2+4\cdot b^2) :u=a^2+b^2 where ''b'' is a positive integer and ''a'' is a positive odd integer. In 1917, Mehmet Nadir published a book on the Number theory. In this book, he proposed an alternative algorithm on divisibility. Well-known
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mathematics professor
Felix Klein Felix Christian Klein (; ; 25 April 1849 – 22 June 1925) was a German mathematician and Mathematics education, mathematics educator, known for his work in group theory, complex analysis, non-Euclidean geometry, and the associations betwe ...
congratulated him for the algorithm.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadir, Mehmet 1856 births 1927 deaths Turkish mathematicians Military personnel of the Ottoman Empire Educators from the Ottoman Empire People from Chios Academic staff of Istanbul University Mathematicians from the Ottoman Empire