Professor Mahmoud Hesabi

In God we trust

Professor Hesabi

Professor Mahmud Hesabi was born in Tehran 1903. His family moved to Syria when his was four and at the age of seven they moved to Beirut having a hard time. He started his education at elementary school far from his homeland in a French priest’s school while his family was struggling with poverty.

Hesabi memorized the Quran and had strong belief in it. And he had also memorized Hafez’s Divan (an Iranian poetry).

When the World War 1 started it occurred at the beginning of his guidance school so. He began his elementary school when World War One started and therefore the French schools of Beirut were closed. After two years studying at home, he continued his studies at an American University of Beirut and got his BA in Literature at the age of 17 and at 19 in biology. Afterwards he got a degree in engineering and earned money as a draftsman and civil engineer. He studied astronomy, medicine and mathematics.

He went to France and was admitted to the"Ecole Superieure d"Electricite”in 1924 and was graduated in 1925. Since he had a scientific mind and spirit, he continued his studies and researches in physics at Sorbonne University and got his PhD in physics with a perfect degree at the age of 25. When 15 thousand people were volunteers to attend Einstein’s class he had the chance to be one of the 5 chosen ones. He had a meeting at Princeton University in America with Einstein and after a year he presented a theory called “Infinitely Extended Particals”. With the guidance of Einstein and his own researches in Chicago University, he defended his theory and explained it to other great scientists like Born, Memzi and Schrodinger and was awarded the greatest scientific medal of France. Einstein elected him as a substitute of himself when he returned to Princeton.

"Professor Hesabi was the first and only Iranian student of Professor Albert Einstein and was known to be his favorite student." He knew five living languages Persian, French, English, German and Arabic plus he knew Sanskrit, Latin, Greek, Pahlavi, Avestan, Turkish and Italian that he used for his etymological studies. Professor Hesabi was chosen as the World's Man of the Year in Science in 1989. On the 3rd of September 1992 at 7:30 am when he was still a university professor at Tehran University he passed away in a hospital of Geneva University after a period of illness.

The following are some of his accomplishments in scientific fields:

Founding modern sciences, founding "Teachers" College" (Dar-ul Moallemin), construction of the first radio-set in Iran, founding higher college for teachers and teaching Physics and Mechanics there, construction of the first weather-station, installation and operation of the first radiology center (for his brother Dr. Mohammad Hesabi), establishing Persian Language Academy, Topography, founding Tehran-Shemshak Railway, founding Tehran University and acting as the dean and the instructor of the university, founding applied optic and lens-making center at Tehran University, establishing the first modern observatory in Iran, establishing nomad school in the country, establishing Geophysics Society of Iran, founding the atomic research Center and Atomic Reactor of Tehran University, founding modern center for satellite studies in Shiraz, founding Physics Society of Iran and etc.

(Wikipedia) The thing that made me like him so much was that he wasn’t one of those people who just stick their heads into their books and just study and study and study; he was unique and special. In his free time he went skiing with his friends or to mountain climbing and had fun. The most important thing was that he had faith in himself.