Abstract:

Professor Ibrahim Akyol was born at the last decades of the Ottoman Empire.  He completed his education in the political, military and social complexity of the state. During the Second Constitutional Period, he went abroad for higher education and graduated from department of physics and natural sciences. Then he completed the department of mining engineering in Berlin. Ibrahim Hakkı Akyol, specializing in different disciplines, made great contributions to the science of geography in Turkey in the early 20th century. He started his professional life as a geography teacher. In 1923 he started to work as a asistant at Darülfünun and after the reform of the university, he continued to work under the department of Geography at Istanbul University. His contributions to geography science, especially Physical Geography,  are known the firsts. Ibrahim Hakkı Akyol, who was one of the founders of the Turkish Geographical Society in 1942, also educated many geographical scientists like Sırrı Erinç. Ibrahim Hakkı Akyol participated in various national and international scientific events during at Istanbul University and organized technical trips with his students and colleagues. In addition, he was also in administrative duties, made important contributions to university reform. He prepared books and brochures to be used not only in higher education but also at middle and high school level. In this study Prof. Ibrahim Hakkı Akyol's life and his  activities made as a geographical scientist as long as he was working at Istanbul University  have been discussed. The main source of this study is the staff file at Istanbul University. Also archives and newspapers of that period have been scanned. Within the framework of his activities the evolution process of the geography science in Turkey and the general status and functioning of the Turkish Geographical Society in the period after the university reform have been briefly explained.

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