Hatice Nüzhet Gökdoğan is recognized as one of the first female scientists in Türkiye to conduct academic work in astronomy and mathematics. Educated abroad through scholarships during the Republican era, she continued her academic career at institutions such as Istanbul University and Istanbul Technical University. Her scientific activities, institutional roles, and contributions to associations have served as a pioneering example for female academics in Türkiye.

Hatice Nüzhet Gökdoğan was born on 14 August 1910 in the Fındıklı neighborhood of Istanbul. Her father was Major General Mehmet Zihni Toydemir and her mother was Nehibe Toydemir.

She began her primary education in 1917 at the German School in Beyoğlu Tünel. In 1919 she transferred as a boarder to Bezmi Alem İnas Sultanisi (Istanbul Girls’ High School). She later attended Şişli Lisan Mektebi for a period. In 1923 she resumed her boarding education at Erenköy Kız Lisesi and graduated from the science branch in 1928.

In 1928 she was sent to France on a scholarship from the Ministry of National Education. She studied French at the Lyon Girls’ High School and then pursued advanced mathematics (Mathématiques Supérieures et Spéciales) at the Lyon Boys’ High School.

In 1932 she completed her undergraduate degree in mathematics at the University of Lyon. In 1933 she began physics studies at the University of Paris and earned the Diplôme d’Études Supérieures. That same year she undertook an internship at the Paris Observatory.

In 1934 she was appointed as the first Turkish associate professor at the Astronomy Chair of the Faculty of Science at Istanbul University. In 1937 she completed her doctoral thesis titled “Contributions aux Recherches sur l’Existence d’une Matière Obscure Interstellaire Homogène Autour du Soleil.” This thesis was recorded in the Faculty of Science archives as “Doctoral Thesis Number One.”

From 1936 to 1946 she served as an associate professor of mathematics at Istanbul Technical University, becoming the first female academic at the institution.

On 1 December 1948 she was promoted to professor by the Senate of Istanbul University and became the university’s first female senator.

In 1954 she was elected dean of the Faculty of Science at Istanbul University, becoming the first female dean in this role. She held this position until 1956.

In 1958 she was appointed head of the Astronomy Chair. She served as department and chair head for 22 years.

She participated in the establishment of the observatory built in the grounds of Istanbul University in 1936. She conducted research on sunspots and minor planets and led efforts to introduce the Lyot filter to Türkiye.

Between 1951 and 1952 she conducted research at the Ann Arbor, McMath-Hulbert, Mount Wilson, and Palomar Observatories in the United States.

She attended the International Astronomical Union meeting in Rome in 1952.

She collaborated on joint research projects with observatories in Meudon and Nice (France), Basel (Switzerland), and Asiago (Italy).

• In 1948 she was one of the founding members of the Turkish Mathematical Society.
• In 1949 she became a founding member of the Turkish Women University Graduates Association and served as its president during various terms.
• She was among the founders of the Turkish Astronomical Society established in 1954 and served as its president for 20 years.
• She held membership roles in the International Astronomical Union’s Turkish delegation and various commissions.

In 1971 she organized the Kepler Symposium and in 1978 she organized the Second National Astronomy Congress in Silivri. These meetings contributed to the emergence of the idea for a national observatory in Türkiye.

• Contributions aux Recherches sur l’Existence d’une Matière Obscure Interstellaire Homogène Autour du Soleil (1937, doctoral thesis)
• Dünyanın Yapısı (1940)
• Astronomi (1947, high school textbook)
• Spektroskopiye Giriş (1978)
• Kozmografya (1952, with W. Gleissberg)

• William M. Smart, Spherical Astronomy
• P. Aubert and G. Papelier, Algebra Exercises for High Schools
• Georges Bruhat, Lectures on Mechanical Physics
• T. Royds, Lectures on Astrophysics
• W. Gleissberg, Textbook of Astronomy
• Henry Norris Russell, Raymond Smith Dugan, John Quincy Stewart, Astronomy
• E. Mosnat, Problems in Analytic Geometry
• L. Motz and A. Duveen, Fundamental Concepts in Astronomy

She published numerous national and international scientific articles and papers on topics including sunspots, interstellar matter, stellar atmospheres, and the history of science.

Hatice Nüzhet Gökdoğan was married to Professor Dr. Mukbil Gökdoğan. She had two children, both of whom pursued academic careers as professors.

Hatice Nüzhet Gökdoğan passed away on 23 April 2003 in Istanbul at the age of 93 and was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.