List of famous people from Istanbul University

This list gives an overview of famous people from Istanbul University . Many important politicians, artists and scientists are alumni of the university, have done research at it and taught as professors. Among the professors are numerous scholars from Germany who went into exile in Turkey after 1933 and were able to work at the University of Istanbul.

This list does not claim to be complete, it is sorted thematically by subject area.

Astronomers

• Erwin Finlay Freundlich (1885–1964), German astrophysicist and astronomer, founder of the Astronomical Institute in 1934.
• Wolfgang Gleißberg (1903–1986), German astronomer, mathematician and physicist.
• Nüzhet Toydemir Gökdoğan (1910–2003), first female astronomer, first female dean and first female senator of the Turkish Republic.
• Paris Pişmiş (1911–1999), first woman to graduate from the Faculty of Science.
• Hans Rosenberg (1879–1940), German astronomer.

botanist

• Leo Brauner (1898–1974), botanist.
• Alfred Heilbronn (1885–1961), German botanist.

Chemist

• Fritz Arndt (1885–1969), German chemist.
• Philipp Gross (1899–1974), Austrian chemist ( PDF ).
• Felix Haurowitz (1896–1987), biochemist [1] .
• Reginald Herzog (1878-1935), German chemist.
• Hans Kröpelin (* 1901), chemist.
• Zdenko Stary (1899–1968), biochemist, previously Ankara University, previously German Charles University in Prague.
• Richard Weiss , Austrian chemist.

Geoscientists and geographers

• Aykut Barka (1952–2002), after the 1999 earthquake in İzmit , he became known for his work on the North Anatolian Fault .
• Erich Obst (1886–1981), German geographer and geopolitician.
• Walther Penck (1888–1923), German geomorphologist.

historian

• Clemens Bosch (1899–1955), German ancient historian.
• Naim Güleryüz (* 1933), Turkish-Jewish historian and non-fiction author.
• Carl Ferdinand Friedrich Lehmann-Haupt (1861–1938), German ancient orientalist and ancient historian.

journalist

• Gila Benmayor (* 1960), columnist for the popular Turkish daily newspaper Hürriyet .
• Hrant Dink (1954–2007), Armenian-Turkish journalist, human rights activist and one of the editors of the Istanbul bilingual weekly Agos , murdered by right-wing extremists.
• Abdi İpekçi (1929–1979), journalist and editor-in-chief of Milliyet newspaper , shot dead by Mehmet Ali Ağca .
• Eli Şaul (* 1916), Israeli journalist and non-fiction author.

Literary and linguist

• Ömer Faruk Akün (1926–2016), Turkish literary historian, head of the department for Turkish language and literature at Istanbul University
• Erich Auerbach (1892–1957), German literary scholar and Romance philologist
• Murat Belge (* 1943), journalist, publisher, human rights activist and professor of English studies
• Gotthelf Bergsträsser (1886–1933), orientalist and linguist
• Zeynep Ergun , professor of English literature
• Friedrich Giese (1870–1944), German linguist and Turkologist
• Walter Gottschalk (1891–1974), German orientalist and librarian
• Walther Kranz (1884–1960), German philologist
• Guy Michaud (1911-2006), French Romance philologist
• Hellmut Ritter (1892–1971), German orientalist
• Leo Spitzer (1887–1960), German Romance studies, head of the foreign language school at Istanbul University
• Karl Süssheim (1878–1947), German orientalist

mathematician

• Richard Edler von Mises (1883–1953), Austrian mathematician.
• William Prager (1903–1980), German mathematician.

Mediciners

• Kemal Alemdaroğlu (* 1939), surgeon, Rector of Istanbul University from 1997 to 2008
• Hulusi Behçet (1889–1948), dermatologist, discoverer and namesake of Adamantiades-Behçet's disease
• Hugo Braun (1881–1963), microbiologist
• Friedrich L. Breusch (1903–1983), pathologist and chemist
• Max Clara (1899–1966), histologist, [2]
• Friedrich Dessauer, radiologist, see under physicists
• Erich Frank (1884–1957), physician
• Karl Hellmann (1892–1959), medic
• Julius Hirsch (1892–1962), hygienist 1933–1948, director of the Univ. Hygiene Institute, then Ciba-Geigy near Basel
• Josef Igersheimer (1879–1965), Berlin and Heidelberg ophthalmologist, from professor in Istanbul from 1933 to 1939, then in the USA
• Alfred Kantorowicz (1880–1962), doctor and founder of school dental care in Germany
• Wilhelm Liepmann (1878–1939), gynecologist
• Werner Lipschitz (1892–1948), physician and pharmacologist
• Karl Löwenthal (1892–1948), histologist
• Rudolf Nissen (1896–1981), surgeon
• Siegfried Oberndorfer (1876–1944), pathologist
• Berta Ottenstein (1891–1956), dermatologist
• Paul Pulewka 1896-1989, pharmacologist
• Friedrich Reimann (1897–1994), physician specializing in blood research.
• Philipp Schwartz (1894–1977), pathologist.
• Max Sgalitzer (1884–1974), radiologist.
• Arslan Terzioglu (1937–2013), Turkish architect and hospital planner
• Hans Winterstein (1879–1963), physiologist and head of the Physiological Institute at Istanbul University.

Musician

• Mercan Dede (* 1966), electronic musician.
• Candan Erçetin (* 1963), pop music singer.
• Bülent Ortaçgil (* 1950), Turkish songwriter.
• Sagopa Kajmer (* 1978), Turkish rapper, DJ and producer.
• Ceza Turkish rapper

Music producers

• Arif Mardin (1932-2006), record producer and vice president of Atlantic Records .

Economists

• Alfred Isaac (1888–1956), German economist
• Gerhard Kessler (1883–1963), German economist and social scientist
• Fritz Neumark (1900–1991), German economist
• Wilhelm Röpke (1899–1966), German economist.

philosopher

• Ernst von Aster (philosopher) (1880–1948), German philosopher.
• Macit Gökberk (1908–1993), Turkish philosopher.
• Hans Reichenbach (1891–1953), German philosopher.

physicist

• Engin Arık (1948–2007), nuclear physicist.
• Harry Dember (1882–1943), physicist.
• Friedrich Dessauer (1881–1963), German radiologist, physicist, socially committed entrepreneur and publicist.
• Arthur Robert von Hippel (1898–2003), German-American materials scientist and physicist.

Politician

• Yıldırım Akbulut (* 1935), former Turkish Prime Minister.
• David Ben Gurion (1886–1973), Israeli statesman and one of the founders of the Social Democratic Labor Party of Israel .
• Jizchak Ben Zwi (1884–1963), Israeli historian, politician of the Zionist labor movement and the second President of Israel.
• İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil (1908–1993), former Foreign Minister of Turkey.
• Cemil Çiçek (* 1946), Minister of State of Turkey, former Minister of Justice.
• Josef Dobretsberger (1903–1970), Austrian lawyer, economist and politician.
• Nihat Erim (1912–1980), former Prime Minister of Turkey.
• Abdullah Gül (* 1950), President of Turkey.
• Sadi Irmak (1904–1990), former Prime Minister of Turkey and professor of physiology.
• Coşkun Kırca (1927–2005), former Foreign Minister of Turkey.
• Erkan Mumcu (* 1963), Tourism Minister and Education Minister of Turkey in various governments, Chairman of the Motherland Party .
• Refik Saydam (1881–1942), former Prime Minister of Turkey.
• Mehmet Ali Şahin (* 1950), former Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey.
• Naim Talu (1919–1998), former Prime Minister of Turkey.
• Ali Tanrıyar (1914–2017), medical doctor, founding members of the Motherland Party and former chairman of the Galatasaray Istanbul football club .
• Kadir Topbaş (* 1945), Lord Mayor of Istanbul.
• Köksal Toptan (* 1943), former President of the Parliament of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey .
• Ufuk Uras (* 1959), Turkish politician and economist, member of parliament and chairman of the Party of Freedom and Solidarity .
• Suat Hayri Ürgüplü (1903–1981), former Prime Minister of Turkey.
• Hayati Yazıcı (* 1952), Vice Prime Minister of Turkey.

Psychologists

• Georg Anschütz (1886–1953), German psychologist.
• Wilhelm Peters (1880–1963), German psychologist, founder of the Institute for Psychology in Jena and Istanbul.
• Muzafer Sherif (1906–1988), social psychologist.

Legal scholar

• Ernst E. Hirsch (1902–1985), German lawyer and legal sociologist.
• Richard Honig (1890–1981), German legal philosopher and legal historian.
• Alexander Rustow (1885–1963), German economic historian and professor of law, founder of refugee organizations.
• Andreas Schwarz (1886–1953), German legal scholar, professor of Roman law.
• Karl Strupp (1886–1940), professor of constitutional and international law.
• Mehmet Ali Şahin (* 1950), Turkish lawyer and Minister of Justice
• Hayati Yazıcı (* 1952), Turkish lawyer and minister of state
• Murat Başesgioğlu (* 1955), Turkish lawyer and Minister of State
• Nimet Çubukçu (* 1965), Turkish lawyer and Minister of State

Directors

• Metin Erksan (1929–2012), one of the most important names in Turkish cinema history.

actor

• Mehmet Ali Alabora (* 1977), Turkish actor.
• Kadir Çöpdemir (* 1967), Turkish actor, radio and television presenter.
• Tuncel Kurtiz (1936–2013), film and theater actor and director.

writer

• Duygu Asena (1946–2006), Turkish journalist, writer and women's rights activist.
• Reşat Nuri Güntekin (1889–1956), Turkish novelist, writer of short stories and plays.
• Attila İlhan (1925–2005), Turkish poet and writer.
• Orhan Veli Kanık (1914–1950), Turkish poet.
• Onat Kutlar (1936–1995), Turkish writer and film critic, killed as a result of a radical Islamist bomb attack.
• Mario Levi (* 1957), Turkish writer and communication scientist.
• Mıgırdiç Margosyan (* 1938), Armenian-Turkish writer.
• Orhan Pamuk (* 1952), Turkish writer and Nobel Prize winner.
• Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (1901–1962), Turkish writer and university professor.

Sociologist

• Gerhard Kessler (1883–1963), German sociologist and active opponent of National Socialism before 1933.
• Alexander Rustow (1885–1963), German sociologist and economist
• Cavit Orhan Tütengil (1921–1979), sociologist and columnist for Cumhuriyet newspaper , murdered by right-wing extremists.

Zoologists

• Curt Kosswig (1903–1982), German zoologist, later head of the Zoological State Institute and the Zoological Museum in Hamburg (sometimes incorrectly in sources: "Kurt"). Husband of:
• Leonore Kosswig biologist and photographer, research traveler in rural (Eastern) Turkey, extensive photo bequest, also of handicrafts and people ( PDF )
• Boris Zarnick , German zoologist
• Tibor Peterfi (1883–1953), Hungarian zoologist and biologist, cytologist. 1939 (apl.) Prof. at the Inst. For Histology and Embryology, 1944 ord. Prof. and head of the institute. Previously in Germany from 1921 to 1934, as a Transylvanian of German origin . "Permanent visiting researcher" at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology with Carl Correns , microscopist and inventor of the micromanipulator, also editor-in-chief according to magazines. As a Jew, and for political reasons dismissed . Then stopovers in England and Denmark. Published in Hungarian, German (mostly) and Turkish

Lecturer at the University's Foreign Language School ( Yabancı Diller Okulu )

• Robert Anhegger (1911–2001), later director of the Goethe Institute in Istanbul
• Heinz Anstock (1909–1980), later director of the Alman Lisesi in Istanbul
• Herbert Dieckmann (1906–1986), later Professor of Romance Philology at Harvard University and Cornell University ; Husband of:
• Liselotte Dieckmann , lecturer for Greek and German at the school; later USA; temporarily wife of the aforementioned
• Ernst Engelberg (1909–2010), professor for the history of the labor movement at the University of Leipzig
• Traugott Fuchs (1906–1997), later professor at the Bosporus University in Istanbul
• Kurt Laqueur (1914–1997), later in the German diplomatic service
• Hans Marchand (1907–1978), most recently Prof. for English Studies in Tübingen [3]
• Andreas Tietze (1914–2003), most recently Professor of Oriental Studies in Vienna
• Werner Richter, since 1916

literature

• Horst Widmann: Exile and educational aid. German-speaking academic emigration to Turkey. Bern and Frankfurt / M. 1973. ISBN 3-261-00731-1

notes

1. ^ The statement "Head of Department" at the KWI, by Lothar Jaenicke : souvenir picture : Mustafa Kemal . Father of the Turks and the life sciences in Turkey, in Zs. Biospektrum, H. 5, 12th year 2006, p. 571 cannot be substantiated