Sevim Tekeli (22 December 1924 – 16 December 2019) was a prominent Turkish history of science professor.[1]

Sevim Tekeli
Prof. Dr. Sevim Tekeli in 2012
Born(1924-12-22)22 December 1924
Izmir, Turkey
Died16 December 2019(2019-12-16) (aged 94)
Ankara, Turkey
Resting placeAnkara
NationalityTurkish
CitizenshipTurkey
Alma materAnkara University
Known forOttoman astronomy
Scientific career
FieldsHistory of Science and Philosophy
InstitutionsAnkara University
Doctoral advisorAydın Sayılı

Early life and education

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Sevim Tekeli was born in Izmir in 1924.[2] She received primary education in different cities of Turkey,[2] since her father Osman Nuri Tekeli was working as a governor in various provinces. She is a graduate of American Girls' High School of Üsküdar.[2]

She obtained a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy at Ankara University. She was attracted to the history of science during her undergraduate studies under the influence of Aydin Sayili.[3]

Academic career

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Sevim Tekeli began her career as a research assistant of Prof. Dr. Aydın Sayılı at the Department of Philosophy in Ankara University in 1952.[4]

Works

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Sevim Tekeli's works mainly focus on the history of Ottoman astronomy, particularly on the studied by the famous astronomer Taqi al Din.[5][6]

When Professor Tekeli started her doctoral studies, it was very hard to find any scientific study and materials in Turkey concerning the history of Ottoman science. She determined to overcome such problems.[3] Eventually, Tekeli overcame all these challenges and completed her doctoral thesis, "The comparison of the observational instruments of Nasir al Din al Tûsî, Tycho Brahe and Taqi al Din", under the supervision of Aydın Sayılı in 1956.[3] Her doctoral thesis in which she made comparisons between Nasir al Din al Tûsî, Tycho Brahe and Taqi al Din in terms of observational instruments they had used was later published with the same title.[7]

She was also interested in the development of scientific endeavour in the 17th century Western Europe and also, in comparing the developments in Russia at the time and in the Ottoman Empire in terms of scientific activities and achievements.[3] She also examined the effects of the Ottoman Empire on Renaissance. She particularly analyzed the reasons behind the superiority and leadership of the Ottoman Empire in the Islamic World at the beginning of the 17th century.[3]

She continued her research on Taqi al Din and published another book, The Brightest Stars of Construction of the Mechanical Clocks that was based on her professorial thesis. In this book, she revealed that Taqi al Din was one of the most important astronomers of the 16th century.[3] She has also studies concerning the map of Piri Reis and Muhyi al Din. She was one of the earliest Turkish scholars uncovering the astronomy activities during the period of Ottomans.[8]

Articles

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Some of her articles are given below:

Books

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(1975). Modern bilimin doğuşunda Bizansʾın etkisi? = Is there any impact of Byzantine on the emergence of modern science?, First Edition, Ankara: Kalite Publishing.[7]

(1985). İlk Japon haritasını çizen Türk Kaşgarlı Mahmud ve Kristof Kolomb'un haritasına dayanarak en eski Amerika Haritasını çizen Türk Amiralı Piri Reis = The oldest map of Japan drawn by a Turk Mahmud of Kashgar and the map of America by Piri Reis, Ankara: Atatürk Kültür Merkezi.[9][10]

(2002). 16’ıncı yüzyılda Osmanlılarda saat ve Takiyüddin’in “mekanik saat konstrüksüyonuna dair en parlak yıldızlar = The clocks in Ottoman Empire in 16th century and Taqi al Din’s the brightest stars for the construction of the mechanical clocks. Second edition, Ankara: T. C. Kültür Bakanlıgi.[11]

Tekeli, Sevim et al. (2007). Bilim tarihine giriş = An introduction to the history of science, Ankara: Nobel Publishing.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Prof Dr. Sevim Tekeli'yi kaybettik". Bilim ve Gelecek (in Turkish). 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Muslim Scholars". Muslim Heritage. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Professor Sevim Tekeli". Foundation for Science Technology and Civilization. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  4. ^ S. Dilek Yalçın Çelik. "Modern Bilimin Doğuşunda Bizans'ın Etkisi Var mıdır? Sevim Tekeli'nin araştırması". Dag Media. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  5. ^ Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu (1995). "Some notes on studies in the field of history of Ottoman science". Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları (Studies in Ottoman Science) (in Turkish). 1.
  6. ^ Kürşat Bumin (21 February 2006). "Ahmedinecad'dan önce davranamadık (We cannot take precedence of Ahmedinejad)". Yeni Şafak. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Modern bilimin doğuşunda Bizansʾın etkisi?" (in Turkish). Open Library. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Astronomy in the Ottomans". Ihsan Fazlıoğlu. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Publications" (in Turkish). Atatürk Cultural Center. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  10. ^ "The oldest map of Japan drawn by a Turk Mahmud of Kashgar and the map of America by Piri Reis". Amazon. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Horology in Islam". Barcelona University. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  12. ^ "Bilim tarihine giriş" (in Turkish). Pandora. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
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