Salih Zeki - Constructing a biography for the mathematician

Şeref Etker

Turkish mathematician Salih Zeki (1864-1921) devoted much of his historical work to the elucidation of Eastern contribution to exact sciences. His magnum opus was the Asâr-ı Bâkiye (Monumental Heritage). The first two volumes published during his lifetime is a series of studies on the mathematicians of the Near East who bridged the knowledge of the Antiquity with Renaissance. 

An engineer by training Salih Zeki turned to teaching mathematics, and became a self-thought historian of science. He was appointed head of the meteorological observatory, principal of the prestigious Galatasaray Lycée, and subsequently rector to the Istanbul University. His work on the history of mathematics has not been fully appreciated and criticized. Salih Zeki's biography also remains to be written. The present study aims to review the various publications on his life and works, including the memoirs of Halidé Edib, pioneering Turkish woman author and professor of English literature, who herself was married to Salih Zeki between the years 1901-1910, and addresses questions  that still need to be answered. A pressing task is to establish an archive for Salih Zeki, to bring together the material associated with his name and work.

Key words: Salih Zeki, history of mathematics, Turkey, biography, Mustafa İnan, Constantin Carathéodory; Anahtar Sözcükler: Salih Zeki, matematik tarihi, Türkiye, biyografi, Mustafa İnan, Constantin Carathéodory