---
title: Ali Yar
slug: ali-yar-a7322
url: /detay/ali-yar-a7322
type: biography
language: English
entity:
  primary: Ali Yar
  type: biography
  categories:
    - name: Math
      slug: matematik
      url: /kategori/matematik
    - name: Educational Sciences
      slug: egitim-bilimleri
      url: /kategori/egitim-bilimleri
    - name: Aviation And Space
      slug: havacilik-ve-uzay
      url: /kategori/havacilik-ve-uzay
  tags:
    - Academic Career
    - Ali Yar
    - translations
    - mathematics
    - education
author: Neriman Çalışkan
created_at: 2025-12-02T08:38:59.655904+03:00
updated_at: 2025-12-02T08:38:59.655920+03:00
image: https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2025/05/15/Wu0OM38gdvCFzgOGCP9gET8VyllsThcA.png
---

# Ali Yar

> Ordinary Prof. Ali Yar (1885–1965) was a prominent Turkish academic who conducted educational, translational, and scientific work in the fields of mathematics and engineering during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic period.

<!-- CONTEXT: KURE Information Cards for "Ali Yar" -->

## KURE Information Cards

### KURE Information Card: Ali Yar

![ali yar.png](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2025/05/15/kZoVwZlnAGhyBCIZPxr9OtJuvCWgrBvo.png)

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Year of Birth | 1885 |
| Place of Birth | Turuski Oral Mountains (of Kazan Turk origin) |
| Ölüm tarihi | 1965-04-04 |
| Education | L’École Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique (Paris),Sorbonne University (Paris),Galatasaray Sultanîsi (Istanbul) |
| Title(s) | Ordinary Professor |
| Profession(s) | Mathematician,Educator,Aeronautical Engineer |
| Institutions Worked at | Galatasaray Sultanîsi (Mathematics and Physics Teacher), İstanbul Darülfünunu (Faculty of Science / Assistant Professor of Higher Algebra and Analytical Mathematics), Yüksek Mühendis Mektebi (later Istanbul Technical University), Istanbul University Faculty of Science (Professor of Mathematics / Dean) |
| Courses Taught | Analysis I,Applications of Algebra,Introduction to Higher Mathematics,Algebra,Analytic Geometry,Higher Algebra |

<!-- CONTEXT: Article Content for "Ali Yar" -->

## Article Content

Ord. Prof. Dr. [Ali Yar](/en/detay/ali-yar-ec76e/llms.txt) was born in 1885 in the town of Turuski, at the foot of the Oral Mountains. His father was Ataullah. The family surname was originally "Allah Yar," but due to an error by a census official, it was recorded as "Yar." Ali Yar was of Kazan Turkish descent.

### **Educational Life**

Ali Yar completed his primary education in his birthplace and then moved to Istanbul, where he enrolled at Galatasaray Sultanîsi. There, he completed two grade levels in one year and finished his ten-year education in just six years.

In 1908, he was sent to Paris, where he completed his undergraduate studies at the Sorbonne University. He then attended L’École Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique, a prestigious engineering school, and graduated within a year. Thus, he became Turkey’s first and the world’s third aircraft engineer.

### **Academic Career**

#### **Ottoman Period Appointments**

In 1912, Ali Yar returned to [Türkiye](/en/detay/turkification-islamization-modernization-book-fa36/llms.txt) and was appointed as an assistant mathematics teacher at Galatasaray Sultanîsi. A year later, he was appointed as a physics teacher.

In the autumn of 1915, he began serving as Assistant Lecturer in Higher Algebra and Analytical Mathematics at the Faculty of Sciences of Darülfünun.

#### **Republican Period Appointments**

- In 1927, he joined the faculty of the Higher Engineering School.
- After the 1933 University Reform, he became one of only three Turkish academic staff members retained in the system and was granted the title of Ordinary Professor. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Sciences for a period following Kerim Erim and left this position in 1939.
- In 1944, with the transformation of the Higher Engineering School into Istanbul Technical University, he joined the faculty of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
- In 1946, following the adoption of the Universities Law, he began working as a professor of mathematics at the Faculty of Sciences of Istanbul University.
- He retired in 1955.

### **Courses Taught**

Throughout his academic career, Ali Yar taught the following courses:

- 1920–1933: Higher Algebra at Fünûn Medresesi,
- 1926–1929: Higher Algebra at the Institute of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences,
- 1941–1945: Analytic Geometry, Algebra, Introduction to Higher Mathematics (for Chemical Engineering), and Applications of Algebra at the Faculty of Sciences,
- 1944–1945: Analysis I at the Faculty of Sciences.

### **Works**

#### **Books and Translations**

Ali Yar translated various mathematical works from French and German into Turkish.

His major works include:

- *Müsellesât* (translation from Henri Ferval, 1924–1925),
- *Müsellesât / Muallim Kitabı* (1928),
- *Cebir Cilt 1: Temel Bahisler* (translation from Oskar Perron, 1946),
- *Cebir Cilt 2: Cebirsel Denklemler Teorisi* (translation from Oskar Perron, 1948),
- *Modern Cebir I-II* (translation from Bartel Leendert van der Waerden, 1955, 1957),
- *Cisimlerin Cebirsel Teorisi* (translation from Ernst Steinitz, 1961),
- *Gruplar Teorisine Giriş* (translation from Pavlus Sergeyevich Alexandroff, 1962),
- *Kozmografya* (1933).

These works were prepared to introduce the fundamental concepts of modern algebra and trigonometry to Turkish readers.

#### **Articles**

Six mathematical articles by Ali Yar have been identified. Five of them were published in the Darülfünun Fünûn Fakültesi Mecmuası:

- *Cebr-i ‘Âdî Meselesi*: Algebraic arrangements and graphical representation of hyperbolic curves,
- *Cebr-i ‘Âdî*: Graphical construction of rectangular hyperbolas,
- *Cebir*: Analysis of roots and inflection points on the curve y²=x³+bx,
- *Muadelâtın Kabiliyet-i Halli Hakkında*: Critical analysis of Wroński’s work on high-degree equations,
- *Riyazat-ı Sırfede Usul*: An article on the philosophy of mathematics, translated from Jules Tannery,
- *Sur la forme associée d’un cercle de l’espace*: A French-language study on Plücker coordinates.

### **Kozmografya and Astronomy Education**

In 1933, Ali Yar published the book *Kozmografya* to provide astronomy education at the high school level. The book consists of twenty chapters and covers topics such as celestial movements, the solar system, cartographic techniques, physical observational instruments, planets, and stars. This work served as a model for astronomy instruction in Turkish high schools during the Republican era.

<!-- CONTEXT: Academic Sources and References for "Ali Yar" -->

## Academic Sources and References

1. Bayam Takıcak, S. Betül. “Osmanlı ve Cumhuriyet Dönemi Matematikçilerinden Ord. Prof. Ali Yar’ın Matematik Kitapları.” \*ERDEM\*, no. 77 (December 2019): 217–238. Accessed May 15, 2025. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/878170.
2. Bayam Takıcak, S. Betül. “Osmanlı ve Cumhuriyet Dönemi Matematikçilerinden Ord. Prof. Ali Yar’ın Matematik Kitapları.” \*ERDEM\*, no. 77 (December 2019): 217–238. Accessed May 15, 2025. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/erdem/issue/50919/656940.
3. Unat, Yavuz. “1933 Yılında Ali Yar Tarafından Yazılmış Lise III Kozmografya Kitabı ve Liselerde Astronomi Dersleri.” \*Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi\* 24, no. 4 (September 2016): 2073-2088. Accessed May 15, 2025. http://erdem.gov.tr/tam-metin/5/tur.