Fuat Sezgin

Fuat Sezgin (* 24 October 1924 in Bitlis) is the leading authority on the history of Arabic-Islamic science. He is the founder and director of the Institute of History of the Arab-Islamic Sciences at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt. Sezgin obtained his PhD from Istanbul University under the famous German orientalist Hellmut Ritter in 1954. His thesis titled "Buhari'nin Kaynaklari" (The Sources of Al-Bukhari) showed that, contrary to the common belief among European orientalists, Al-Bukhari's edition of Hadith collection was based on the written resources dating back to the 7th century as well as the oral history. Sezgin moved to Germany in 1961 and started working as a visiting professor at the University of Frankfurt. Sezgin was appointed professor at the university in 1965. His research at Frankfurt focused on Islam's Golden Age of Science. In 1983, Sezgin established the Institute of History of the Arab-Islamic Sciences. Today the Institute houses the most comprehensive collection of texts on the history of Arabic-Islamic science in the world. Sezgin also founded a unique museum within the institute, bringing together more than 800 replicas of historical scientific instruments, tools and maps, mostly belonging to the Golden Age of Islamic science.

Fuat Sezgin is the author and editor of numerous publications. Among many others, his 13-volume work "Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums" is the cornerstone reference on the history of science and technology in the Islamic world. Sezgin is recipient several awards, including King Faisal Prize of Islamic Studies and The Great Medal for Distinguished Service of Federal Republic of Germany. He is member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences, Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, and academies of Arabic Language in Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad.