Prof.Dr. Ali Yar
He was born in 1884 in the Troiski (Troitskoye) region of Russia. After completing his primary education in Troiski, he enrolled at Galatasaray Sultanisi (now Galatasaray High School) in Istanbul. By passing two years’ exams in one year, he completed the 10-year secondary education at Galatasaray Sultanisi in six years. In 1908, he was sent to Paris. He graduated from the University of Sorbonne in 1911 with the degree of “Licencié.” Additionally, he completed the Higher School of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering — now known as “L’École Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique” — in one year and graduated in July 1912. By graduating from this institution after Sorbonne, he returned to Turkey as the first Turkish aeronautical engineer.
After returning from Paris, he was appointed assistant mathematics teacher at Galatasaray Sultanisi in 1912. In the autumn of 1915, he was appointed assistant professor of advanced algebra and analytical mathematics at the Faculty of Science of Istanbul Darülfünun. In 1927, he began teaching at the School of Engineering (now Istanbul Technical University). In 1929, upon Atatürk’s request, he wrote an astronomy book titled Kosmografya. When the School of Engineering became a Technical University in 1944, he was appointed as a professor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
After the university reform of 1933, Ali Yar became one of the three Turkish faculty members who remained at the Faculty of Science of Istanbul University and was promoted to the rank of Ordinaryüs Professor on August 1, 1933. Following Kerim Erim, he also served as Dean of the Faculty of Science for a period. However, to fully dedicate himself to teaching, he resigned from the deanship on April 18, 1939. He taught courses in analytic geometry, algebra, introduction to higher mathematics, algebraic applications, and analysis.
When the Universities Law was passed in 1946, he left the School of Engineering and continued working exclusively at Istanbul University. He was among the founding members of the Turkish Mathematical Society established in 1948. Until his retirement on July 13, 1955, he worked as a professor of mathematics at the Faculty of Science of Istanbul University. Having reached the age of 70, Ord. Prof. Dr. Ali Yar retired and passed away in Istanbul on April 4, 1965.
*This biography was compiled by our board member Özkan Değer for the booklet “TMD 75 Yılın Ardından,” prepared on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Mathematical Society.