Gholamhossein Mosahab

The book “Gholamhossein Mosahab”, written by Sadegh Hojjati and the forty-second volume in the “Enduring Personalities” series, has been published. Gholamhossein Mosahab was an Iranian mathematician and encyclopedist, born in 1910 in Tehran and passed away in 1979. In any account written about the scientific and cultural life of modern Iran, the influential figure of Gholamhossein Mosahab must be given a worthy place; for part of what we know and admire today as the culture of modern Iran was created and promoted by him. Mosahab’s remarkable distinction among contemporary Iranian scientific and cultural figures lies in the breadth of his work across diverse fields — and, without exaggeration, with an outstanding record in all of them. Among these, his mathematical work undoubtedly takes precedence: a dimension that goes beyond the conventional image of a mathematician and encompasses mathematical scholarship, logic, teaching, authoring mathematics textbooks, promoting modern mathematics, and researching the history of mathematics — all of which earned him the well-deserved title of “the father of modern mathematics in Iran.”

Gholamhossein Mosahab: The Worthy Director of the Persian Encyclopedia

In addition to teaching and writing, Mosahab was a pioneer in launching academic programs in mathematics and founded a successful educational institution. Despite his fame in modern mathematics, many Iranians rightly recognize him more as the founder of scientific encyclopedia-writing in Iran. Nearly all experts have attested to his exceptional competence in directing the Persian Encyclopedia, and to the unmatched suitability he had for this role. The widespread and lasting reception of the Persian Encyclopedia — before the rise of online information databases and even in some fields still retaining its authoritative status today — stands as testimony to his merit and to the value and success of this monumental work. One must also mention Mosahab’s efforts to align the Persian language with the language of modern science, and his pioneering work in coining Persian terms as equivalents for scientific concepts from foreign languages — both through practical contribution and by formulating a systematic and disciplined theoretical method for this process. The book “Gholamhossein Mosahab”, authored by Sadegh Hojjati, is presented in two chapters titled “Biography” and “Mosahab’s Intellectual System and Legacy.” It covers his childhood, education, activities such as journalism and compiling the encyclopedia, his service at the university, as well as his attention to the Persian language, mathematics, and logic.

Excerpt from the book “Gholamhossein Mosahab”:

“Encyclopedia-writing or compiling general or specialized reference works (collecting or summarizing knowledge across all fields or on a specific subject) has a long history in Iran, but the modern style began with the Persian Encyclopedia directed by Mosahab. In the midst of his academic, scientific, and administrative responsibilities, Mosahab added another major project to his agenda… His supervision of the Persian Encyclopedia is his most recognized — and in a sense, most esteemed — work among scholars, writers, and indeed, as the common expression ‘Mosahab’s Encyclopedia’ suggests, among the public. Referring to the tradition of single-subject encyclopedia-writing in the Iranian-Islamic world, and its differences from the style and approach of modern encyclopedia-writing, makes Mosahab’s innovation and pioneering role — and that of his colleagues — even clearer.”