Prof.Dr. Nazım Terzioğlu
Nazım Terzioğlu was born in Kayseri in 1912. He completed his primary education in his hometown of Kayseri. Continuing his secondary education in İzmir, he graduated from İzmir High School in 1930. At that time, under Atatürk’s direction, outstanding young students were sent abroad by the state for higher education. Terzioğlu passed the examination held for this purpose and, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, went to Germany to continue his mathematics studies. He completed his higher education at the Universities of Göttingen and Munich. Under the supervision of the renowned mathematicians Prof. Dr. Constantin Carathéodory and Rolf Herman Nevanlinna, he defended his doctoral dissertation titled Über Finslersche Räume (On Finsler Spaces) at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich in 1936.
After finishing his education in Germany, Terzioğlu returned to Turkey and in 1937 began working as an assistant in mathematical mechanics and advanced geometry at the Mathematics Institute of the Faculty of Science, Istanbul University. He became an associate professor in 1942, and the following year he was appointed professor at the newly established Mathematics Institute of the Faculty of Science, Ankara University. After two years there, in 1944 he returned to Istanbul University as a professor. He served as dean of the Faculty of Science from 1950 to 1952.
During these years, Terzioğlu founded several scientific institutions urgently needed in Turkey. These included the Geophysics Institute of Istanbul University, the Hydrobiology Institute in Baltalimanı, Istanbul, and the Cosmic Ray Institute on Uludağ, established in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Adnan Sokullu and Prof. Dr. Sait Akpınar. After completing his deanship at the Faculty of Science, in 1953 he was appointed head of the Analysis Department at the Mathematics Institute within the same faculty.
Terzioğlu played a key role in founding Karadeniz Technical University (KTÜ). Between 1965 and 1967, while retaining his position at Istanbul University, he first served in an acting capacity and then as the official founding rector of KTÜ. It was under his leadership that Turkey’s first Faculty of Basic Sciences was established there. In 1967, he returned to his duties at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Science and was elected Rector of Istanbul University in 1969 and again in 1971, serving two terms (October 28, 1969–October 28, 1971 and October 28, 1971–May 31, 1974).
In the early years of his rectorship, he restored the historic imaret building attached to the Şehzade Mosque by obtaining it from the Directorate of Foundations and installed a modern print shop there. On August 6, 1971, he inaugurated the Faculty of Science Mathematics Research Institute. He built a 2,000‑volume mathematics library in this institute through donations and purchases from foreign sources. After his death, upon the proposal of the Faculty of Science, the institute was renamed the Nazım Terzioğlu Mathematics Research Institute, but it was closed by the University Rectorate in 2000.
Collaborating with Silivri Municipality, Terzioğlu secured a donation of a 35‑dönüm (approximately 35‑acre) plot in Silivri for Istanbul University. On part of that land, he oversaw construction of 18 study rooms, three large conference halls, a library, and a guesthouse affiliated with the Faculty of Science’s Mathematics Research Institute, intended to host visiting scientists.
Terzioğlu placed great importance on postgraduate education and believed talented youths needed to be trained specially. To support this, starting on September 3, 1973, with the opening of the Silivri facility, he organized congresses, seminars, colloquia, summer programs, and development courses, inviting foreign scientists and thereby contributing significantly to the education of younger generations. He also cooperated with the Ministry of Education to organize joint courses to teach modern mathematics to mathematics teachers, facilitating the introduction of modern mathematics education in schools.
One of his notable contributions during his rectorship was securing a 100‑dönüm plot in the “Dragonya” region near Enez in Istanbul Province for Istanbul University. There, he pioneered the establishment of the University Medico‑Social Hydro‑Helio Therapy Research Center, studying the effects of water and sunlight on human health, and oversaw construction of much of what now operates as the Istanbul University Enez Social Facilities.
In 1924, by Atatürk’s decree, the Istanbul University Library was located in the former Medresetü’l‑Kuzât building. Valuable manuscripts, printed books, photo albums, and documents were transferred from the Yıldız Palace. Over time, accumulating new publications made the building unable to bear the burden and caused structural risk. A campaign was launched to construct a new library building, and during 1961–1962, land for the Istanbul University Central Library was acquired. Although construction was delayed due to a dispute with the Istanbul Municipality, Terzioğlu overcame bureaucratic obstacles, and on October 14, 1970, the foundation stone was laid. New books and journals were moved into the new library, while manuscripts and documents remained in the old building, which was later converted into a museum.
The construction of Istanbul University’s Avcılar Campus (now Istanbul University–Cerrahpaşa) began during his rectorship. The campus was officially launched on August 25, 1972, by then‑President Cevdet Sunay; it now houses Faculties of Veterinary Science, Business and Engineering, and the Vocational School of Technical Sciences — all established through Terzioğlu’s efforts.
Terzioğlu was deeply committed to advancing mathematics in Turkey and believed it should be disseminated among enthusiastic and talented students. In 1961, he organized the first nationwide mathematics competition for high school students. As a founding member and president (1956–1976) of the Turkish Pure and Applied Mathematics Association, he facilitated the publication of 34 mathematics books for high school students between 1963 and 1969. Through his efforts, the Association played a key role in fostering students’ interest in mathematics. In 1972, he also established a Chair of Numerical and Computing Machines within the Faculty of Science’s Mathematics Department.
After the March 1, 1942 fire that destroyed the Mathematics Library of Istanbul Darülfünun’s Faculty of Science branch alongside Zeynep Hanım Konağı, Terzioğlu worked tirelessly to rebuild it. Through donations from NATO and various countries, he enriched the Mathematics Library of the Faculty of Science.
Another major contribution to mathematics and scientific history was publishing facsimile editions of two old Arabic mathematical texts. The first is the preface to Apollonius of Perga’s Conica (circa 262–190 BC), translated into Arabic by Banu Musa ibn Shakir under the title Mecmūʿat ar‑Risāʾil, published as Das Vorwort des Astronomen Banī Mūsā b. Shākir, which describes how Apollonius’s Conica entered the Islamic world. Later, he published a facsimile edition of the lost Book VIII on conics, reconstructed by Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039) from other sources.
One of Terzioğlu’s most notable contributions to Turkish scientific history was his initiative, while president of the Turkish Mathematical Society, to transliterate Salih Zeki Bey’s Asâr‑ı Bâkiye (Volumes I–II, Istanbul, 1913) and the manuscript of Volume III into Latin script, making them accessible to younger generations. Volume III was transliterated by Prof. Dr. Hüsnü Hamit Sayman, a former dean of the Faculty of Science. Publication rights to Asâr‑ı Bâkiye were held by the Turkish Mathematical Society.
Terzioğlu played a vital role in reviving the Balkan Mathematical Union (Union Balkanique des Mathématiciens), founded before World War II, serving as its president for two terms (1966–1971). He also chaired the IV Balkan Mathematicians Congress, held in Istanbul on August 29, 1972. Among his other international achievements was securing Turkey’s membership in the International Mathematical Union.
On September 20, 1976, during a symposium held at the Silivri facilities in honor of his mentor, Finnish Prof. Dr. Rolf Nevanlinna, Nazım Terzioğlu suffered a fatal heart attack. Despite this, the symposium continued with some adjustments. Prof. Dr. Nazım Terzioğlu passed away and, after a funeral ceremony at Istanbul University’s main building on Wednesday, September 22, 1976 at 11:00 AM attended by visiting mathematicians, he was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
Terzioğlu was elected to the Hahnemann Medical Society of America in 1973, and in 1974 he was awarded the Order of Merit by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany for his efforts to improve Turkish‑German relations. He also received medals from Prague University and Jyväskylä University in Finland. In his honor, during the III Domestic Mathematicians Meeting on May 26, 1977, a bust of him was erected in the garden of the Silivri facilities. For his contributions to the development of mathematics in Turkey, he was awarded the TÜBİTAK Service Award on December 2, 1982. His family established a Mathematics Research Prize in his name, honoring his lifelong dedication to advancing mathematics in Turkey. Additionally, since 2008 the Turkish Mathematical Society has offered a scholarship in his name.
*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.