Agop Handanyan
Dr. Agop Handanyan (born 1834, Diyarbakir, Ottoman Empire - died October 30, 1899 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire) was a respected physician, writer, translator, professor, and author of the first forensic science book in Ottoman Turkey.[1] He was of Armenian descent.[2]
Background
Agop Handanyan was born in Diyarbakir but moved to Istanbul at the age of 5. He first studied at the local Armenian Jemaran Lyceum in Scutari, the Asiatic part of Constantinople. After graduating from the Lyceum, he pursued a medical career. In 1860, he finished his studies at the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane, which was the first medical school in the Ottoman Empire. in 1878, he became the professor of the Military Medical Academy after Serovpe (Servitchen) Vitchenian, an Ottoman Armenian professor, decided to step down. He later worked for the general archives of the Assembly of Civil Medical School.
Translations
Having known French very well, Agop Handanyan completed the important task of translating works of French medical books into Ottoman Turkish. He first translated books of Joseph Briand and Ernest Chaudé from the French into English in 1875.[3] His then wrote the Tıbb-ı Kanunî in 1877, which was a translation from the French. This was followed by a toxicology study called Kimya-yi Kanunî in 1885. These books are considered the first medical books in Turkish history.[4]
References
- Toumarkine, derleyenler, Noémi Levy, Alexandre (2007). Osmanlı'da asayiş, suç ve ceza : 18.-20. yüzyıllar (in Turkish). İstanbul: Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı. p. 107. ISBN 9789753332156.
- Ihsanoglu, Ekmeleddin (1985). Türk kimya eserleri bibliyografyası: (basmalar 1830-1928) ve modern kimya biliminin Türkiye Cumhuriyetinin kuruluşuna kadar olan durumu ve gelişmesi (in Turkish). İslâm Tarih, Sanat, ve Kültür Araştırma Merkezi. p. 19.
- "Acta Medicinae Legalis et Socialis". Acta Medicinae Legalis et Socialis (in French). 15-16. 1962.
- "Yurdumuzda Adli Tıp Öğretimi" (in Turkish). I.T.U. - Istanbul University Tip Fakueltesi. Retrieved 26 November 2012.