Sevim Tekeli

{{Short description|Turkish history of science professor (1924–2019)}}

{{Infobox scientist

| image = Sevim Tekeli (2012).jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Prof. Dr. Sevim Tekeli in 2012

| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|12|22|df=yes}}

| birth_place = İzmir, Turkey

| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|12|16|1924|12|22|df=yes}}

| death_place = Ankara, Turkey

| resting_place = Ankara

| citizenship = Turkey

| nationality = Turkish

| fields = History of Science and Philosophy

| workplaces = Ankara University

| alma_mater = Ankara University

| doctoral_advisor = Aydın Sayılı

| academic_advisors =

| doctoral_students =

| notable_students =

| known_for = Ottoman astronomy

| author_abbrev_bot =

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}}

Sevim Tekeli (22 December 1924 – 16 December 2019) was a prominent Turkish history of science professor.{{cite news|title=Prof Dr. Sevim Tekeli'yi kaybettik|url=https://bilimvegelecek.com.tr/index.php/2019/12/16/prof-dr-sevim-tekeliyi-kaybettik/|accessdate=16 January 2020|work=Bilim ve Gelecek|date=16 December 2019|language=tr}}

Early life and education

Sevim Tekeli was born in İzmir in 1924.{{cite web|title=Muslim Scholars|publisher=Muslim Heritage

|url=http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=537|access-date=23 May 2012}} She received primary education in different cities of Turkey, 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.

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.{{cite web|title=Professor Sevim Tekeli

|url=http://www.fstc.org.uk/node/59|publisher=Foundation for Science Technology and Civilization|access-date=23 May 2012}}

Academic career

Sevim Tekeli began her career as a research assistant of Prof. Dr. Aydın Sayılı at the Department of Philosophy in Ankara University in 1952.{{cite web|author=S. Dilek Yalçın Çelik|title=Modern Bilimin Doğuşunda Bizans'ın Etkisi Var mıdır? Sevim Tekeli'nin araştırması

|url=http://www.dagmedya.net/2012/01/04/modern-bilimin-dogusunda-bizansin-etkisi-var-midir-sevim-tekelinin-arastirmasi/|publisher=Dag Media

|access-date=7 June 2012}}

Works

Sevim Tekeli's works mainly focus on the history of Ottoman astronomy, particularly on the studied by the famous astronomer Taqi al Din.{{cite journal|author=Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu|title=Some notes on studies in the field of history of Ottoman science|journal=Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları (Studies in Ottoman Science)|year=1995|volume=1|url=http://www.bilimtarihi.org/OBA/1995-1-3.htm|language=tr|author-link=Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu}}{{cite news|author=Kürşat Bumin|title=Ahmedinecad'dan önce davranamadık (We cannot take precedence of Ahmedinejad)|url=http://yenisafak.com.tr/arsiv/2006/subat/21/kbumin.html|access-date=23 May 2012|newspaper=Yeni Şafak|date=21 February 2006}}

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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.{{cite web|title=Astronomy in the Ottomans

|url=http://www.ihsanfazlioglu.net/EN/publication/articles/1.php?id=185|publisher=Ihsan Fazlıoğlu|access-date=23 May 2012}}

=Articles=

Some of her articles are given below:

(1970). [http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Al_Urdi_Article.pdf Al Urdi's Article on the Quality of the Observations]. Araştırma 8.
(1980).[http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/IstanbulObservatory.pdf The Observational Instruments of Istanbul Observatory]. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Observatories in Islam, pp. 33,43.
(1985). [https://muslimheritage.com/uploads/piri.pdf The map of America by Pîrî Reîs]. New Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
(2008). [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830902295.html Al-Khujandī, Abū Maḥmūd Ḥāmid Ibn Al-Khiḍr]. Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
(2008). [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830903421.html Pirī Rais (or Re’is), Muḥyī Al-Dīn]. Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
(2008). [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830903072.html Muḥyi ’L-Dīn Al-Maghribī]. Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography.

=Books=

(1975). Modern bilimin doğuşunda Bizansʾın etkisi? = Is there any impact of Byzantine on the emergence of modern science?, First Edition, Ankara: Kalite Publishing.{{cite web|title=Modern bilimin doğuşunda Bizansʾın etkisi?|publisher=Open Library|language=tr

|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL12300651W/Modern_bilimin_do%C4%9Fu%C5%9Funda_Bizans%CA%BE%C4%B1n_etkisi|access-date=23 May 2012}}

(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.{{cite web|title=Publications|url=http://e-magaza.akmb.gov.tr/switch.php?file=ProductInfo&cat_id=1&product_id=538|publisher=Atatürk Cultural Center|access-date=29 May 2012|language=tr}}{{cite web|title=The oldest map of Japan drawn by a Turk Mahmud of Kashgar and the map of America by Piri Reis|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IRBATU|publisher=Amazon|accessdate=29 May 2012}}

(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.{{cite web|title=Horology in Islam|url=http://www.ub.edu/islamsci/biblio/Horology.htm|publisher=Barcelona University

|access-date=23 May 2012|url-status=dead|archivedate=4 October 2013|df=dmy-all

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214104/http://www.ub.edu/islamsci/biblio/Horology.htm}}

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

|title=Bilim tarihine giriş|url=http://www.pandora.com.tr/urun/bilim-tarihine-giris/55611|publisher=Pandora|access-date=29 May 2012|language=tr}}