Salih Zeki Bey (1864, Istanbul – 1921, Istanbul) was an Ottoman

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and the founder of the mathematics, physics, and astronomy departments of

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 ...

. He was sent by the Post and Telegraph Ministry to study electrical engineering at the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in Paris. He returned to Istanbul in 1887 and started working at the Ministry as an electrical engineer and inspector. He was appointed as the director of the state observatory () (now Kandilli Observatory) after Coumbary in 1895. In 1912, he became Under Secretary of the Ministry of Education and in 1913 the president of Istanbul University. In 1917, he resigned as the president but continued teaching at the university in the Faculty of Sciences until his death.

Works

Astronomy

* New Cosmography * Abridged Cosmography

Physics

* Hikmet-i Tabiiyye * Mebhas-ı Elektrik-i Miknatisi * Mebhas-ı Hararet-i Harekiye

History of science

* Asar-ı Bakiye

Mathematics

* Kamus-i Riyaziyat * Hendese-i Tahliliye * Hesab-i Ihtimali

References

* Hüseyin Gazi Topdemir, "Salih Zeki" in ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers'', Thomas Hockey, Virginia Trimble, Thomas R. Williams, Katherine Bracher, Richard A. Jarrell, Jordan D. Marché, II, F. Jamil Ragep, JoAnn Palmeri, Marvin Bolt (Eds.), Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2007, pp. 1007-1008.
''Salih Zeki Özel Sayısı''
(=''Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları'', vol. 7, no. 1), 2005. (Special issue on Salih Zeki of the journal 'Studies in Ottoman Science', in Turkish.) {{Authority control 1864 births 1921 deaths 19th-century scientists from the Ottoman Empire Turkish mathematicians Academic staff of Istanbul University École Polytechnique alumni Engineers from the Ottoman Empire Astronomers from the Ottoman Empire Burials at Fatih Mosque Graveyard, Istanbul