Famous Turkish Scientists

Remembered as the Father of Medieval Robotics, Ismail al-Jazari was a 12th-century polymath from Mesopotamia. His innovative inventions included water-operated clocks, such as the elephant clock; a flush mechanism used in modern-day toilets; and an automated musical band. However, many feel he didn’t get due credit for his pioneering inventions.

Greek mathematician Menaechmus is best remembered for discovering conic sections, or the concepts of hyperbola, parabola, and ellipse. Well acquainted with Plato, he is also believed to have tutored Alexander the Great. An epigram by Greek polymath Eratosthenes has been the chief record of Menaechmus’s works.