Prof. Dr. Hatice Nüzhet Toydemir Gökdoğan
Nüzhet Gökdoğan was born on August 14, 1910, in the Fındıklı district of Istanbul. In 1917, she began her primary education at the German School located in the Beyoğlu Tunnel. Due to the closure of the German School in 1918, she left that institution and was enrolled as a boarding student in the second grade of Bezmi Alem İnas Sultaniyesi (Istanbul Girls’ High School, now Cağaloğlu Anatolian High School) in 1919. In the third grade, she transferred to Şişli Lisan Mektebi (Şişli Terakki). In 1923, she started boarding at Erenköy Girls’ High School. She completed the Science Department of Erenköy Girls’ High School in 1928 and, upon receiving a government scholarship, was sent to France by the order of Atatürk to pursue a bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences.
In 1928, obtaining permission from the Ministry of National Education, Nüzhet Gökdoğan went to Lyon, France. She learned French at Lyon Girls’ High School and later transferred to Lyon Boys’ High School, where she attended the Mathématiques Supérieures and Spéciales classes. Expressing an interest in astronomy, she completed her mathematics degree at Lyon University in 1932. In 1933, she began her physics education at the University of Paris. In the same year, she received the “Diplóme d’Études Supérieures” certificate from the University of Paris and underwent an internship at the Paris Observatory. She successfully passed her exams at the end of 1933.
Nüzhet Gökdoğan was appointed as the first Turkish associate professor at the Institute of Astronomy at Istanbul University Faculty of Science on September 29, 1934. In 1936, she participated in the establishment of a small but modern observatory in the garden of Istanbul University. A telescope with an aperture of 30 cm and a focal length of 150 cm was installed in this observatory. This telescope, the second one brought to Turkey after the 20 cm telescope purchased for the Kandilli Observatory, was set up in 1936.
In the same year, she was appointed as an assistant professor at the Higher Technical School (Istanbul Technical University) and became its first female employee. She served as a mathematics associate professor at the institution until 1946. In 1937, she prepared her doctoral thesis titled “Contributions aux Recherches sur l’Existence d’une Matière Obscure Interstellaire Homogène Autour du Soleil” (Contributions to Research on the Existence of Homogeneous Interstellar Dark Matter Around the Sun) under the supervision of Chair Professor Ord. Prof. Dr. F. Freundlich. With this thesis, she earned the title of Doctor of Science, and it is recorded as the “first” doctoral thesis in the records of Istanbul University Faculty of Science.
Nüzhet Gökdoğan, along with Gleissberg and Weber, attended the Congress of the German Astronomical Society held in Breslau in July 1937. In May 1940, she submitted her associate professorship thesis and was appointed as an associate professor. On December 1, 1948, she was promoted to the rank of professor by the recommendation of the Faculty of Science and the approval of the Istanbul University Senate. In 1948, she became a University Senator to represent the Faculty of Science, thus becoming the first female senator. In the same year, she was among the founders of the Turkish Mathematical Society, along with Cahit Arf, Mustafa İnan, and Nazım Terzioğlu.
Süreyya Ağaoğlu, Sara Akdik, Şevket Fazıla Giz, Remziye Hisar, Nebahat Karaorman, Müfide Küley, Türkan Rado, Pakize Tarzi, and Beraat Zeki Üngör were among the founders of the Turkish University Women’s Association (TÜKD) in 1949. She served as the president of this association from 1952 to 1954, 1954 to 1956, 1966 to 1968, and 1968 to 1970. In 1951–1952, she was in the United States, specifically in the state of Michigan. She worked at Ann Arbor and McMath-Hulbert Observatories, as well as the observatories located in Wilson Peak and Palomar Mountain in Pasadena. In 1952, she was invited to the International Astronomical Union meeting held in Rome, along with Gleissberg. On June 23, 1954, she was elected as the dean of the Faculty of Science, serving in this role for two years as the first female dean (1954–1956). She was also among the founders of the Turkish Astronomical Society established in 1954 and served as its president for approximately 20 years.
Prof. Dr. Nüzhet Gökdoğan continued her roles as dean and department chair for the second time in 1980. However, due to age limits, she was retired from her position. On April 23, 2003, at the age of 93, she passed away and was laid to rest at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
*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.