Mehmet Fuat Köprülü

Born Dec. 4, 1890, in Istanbul; died there June 28, 1966. Turkish philologist, publicist, and historian.

Köprülü studied in the faculty of law at the University of Istanbul, and he became a professor there in 1913. His works mark the beginning of the European school in Turkish literary history. His fundamental treatises The First Mystics in Turkish Literature (1918), Contemporary Literature (1924), History of Turkish Religion (1925), History of Turkish Literature (1928), and Turkish Folk Poets (1940–41) were a major contribution to the study of important problems of Turkish culture. He is the author of more than 500 works dealing with problems in Turkish language, literature, medieval history, and the history of religious movements. In 1946 he helped found the Democratic Party of Turkey. Köprülü served as foreign minister from 1950 to 1957 and contributed to Turkey’s entry into NATO in 1952 and into the Baghdad Pact in 1955.