Nationality Azerbaijani Religion Islam | Name Ali Huseynzade Died 1940, Istanbul, Turkey | |
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Born 1864
Salyan, Russian Empire ( 1864 ) Occupation writer, philosopher, publicist, artist, doctor Organizations founded Committee of Union and Progress Similar People Abdullah Cevdet, Ibrahim Temo, Enver Pasha, Talaat Pasha, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk | ||
Ali bey Huseyn oğlu Huseynzade (Azerbaijani: Əli bəy Hüseyn oğlu Hüseyzadə; Turkish: Hüseyinzade Ali Turan; Salyan, February 24, 1864 – Istanbul, March 17, 1940) was an Azerbaijani writer, thinker, philosopher, artist, doctor, and the creator of the modern Flag of Azerbaijan.
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Early years
Ali bey Huseynzade was born in 1864 to a family of Muslim religious cleric in Salyan, in the present-day Azerbaijan. His grand father Mahammadali Huseinzadeh was the Sheikh ul-Islam (Supreme religious leader) of the Caucasus for 32 years. Ali bey received his primary education at the Tiflis Muslim school followed by the Tiflis Classical Gymnasium. In 1885, he entered the Physics and Math Department at Saint Petersburg University. Upon graduation from there in 1889, Huseynzade moved to Istanbul, where he entered the Medical faculty of Istanbul University (IU). After graduation from IU, he served as a military doctor in the Ottoman Army, and subsequently as an Assistant Professor at IU. Huseynzade was one of the founders of the Committee of Union and Progress. Ziya Gökalp, was influenced by his Pan-Turkist ideology, and referred to Huseynzade as one of his most important teachers.
Public activity
In 1903, Ali bey returned home and spent the next 7 years in Baku. During this period of time, he engaged in scholarly and publishing activities, edited the "Heyat" newspaper, and served as a chief editor of "Kaspiy" newspaper. In 1905, he joined Alimardan Topchubashev, Farrukh Vezirov, Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov and Ahmed bey Aghayev as a part of Azerbaijani delegation to an all-Russian convention of Muslims, where an agreement was reached on establishing of a single Muslim party in Russian Empire. In 1906, Huseynzade started publishing the "Fiyuzat" magazine, financed by the famous philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, and harshly criticized the Tsarist government in his writings.
In 1910, Huseynzade moved to the Ottoman Empire, where he was elected a presiding member of the Committee of Union and Progress. In 1918, he returned to Azerbaijan to participate in the formation of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), and participated in negotiations for the Ottoman support of the ADR against the Baku Commune. After the fall of ADR in April 1920, Huseynzade permanently settled in Turkey and became a citizen of this country, receiving the surname Turan.
Memory
One of the streets in the Yasamal district of Baku is named after Ali bey Huseynzade and there's a statue of him in the centre of his home town.