Ahmad Aram Information

Ahmad Aram (March 28, 1902, Tehran, Iran – April 4, 1998, United States) was a translator, a member of the Maktab-e-Metāʿ (Metāʿ School), and a contemporary writer. He contributed to the compilation of Dāʾerat al-Maʿāref-e Fārsi and won the first prize in the inaugural cycle of the Iran Book of the Year Award for his translation of Al-Hayat .

Ahmad Aram was born on March 28, 1902, in the Chaleh-Meydan neighborhood of Tehran. After completing his secondary education at Darolfonoon in 1925, he began teaching physics and chemistry. Observing that experimental subjects were being taught theoretically, without laboratory activities, he took the initiative to write New Year’s Gift, a collection of physics and chemistry experiments. Published in February 1926, this was the first educational book in Iran dedicated to laboratory work.

Aram initially pursued a degree in law but later switched to medicine. However, he abandoned his medical studies in the final year and turned to cultural activities and translation. Along with Dr. Nasiri, he was one of the pioneers in authoring textbooks in Iran and served as the Deputy Minister of Education in the 1950s.

Aram was one of the earliest Iranian authors of educational textbooks. He independently, and with collaborators, wrote high school physics and chemistry textbooks. Due to his admiration for Amir Kabir, he named his book series the Amir Series. By around 1952, he had authored nearly forty educational books.

As one of the most prolific contemporary translators, Ahmad Aram translated over 140 works from English, French, and Arabic. He was meticulous in finding suitable Persian equivalents for foreign words, avoiding the use of foreign terminology. About this, he once said:

“I translated a medical book of about 1,200 pages, and I made sure not to include a single foreign word. It was an extremely challenging task, but I succeeded.”

Ahmad Aram passed away on April 4, 1998, in the United States. His body was transferred to Tehran, and he was buried in a ceremony on April 22. In 2013, he was honored as one of Iran’s lasting figures.

Works

Aram translated over 200 books from English, French, and Arabic, including:

• Proof of the Existence of God (John Clover Monsma)

• Three Muslim Sages (Seyyed Hossein Nasr)

• Science and Civilization in Islam (Seyyed Hossein Nasr)

• The Birth and Death of the Sun

• The Evolution of Physics (Albert Einstein & Leopold Infeld)

• Science, Theory, and Man (Erwin Schrödinger)

• The Story of Civilization (Volume 1: Our Oriental Heritage, Will Durant)

• The Transmission of Greek Sciences to the Islamic World (Delisle Burns)

• A History of Science (George Sarton)

• How to Solve It? (George Pólya)

• Six Wings of Science

• Islamic Thinkers (Baron Carra de Vaux)

• Conjectures and Refutations (Karl Popper)

• Hegel and the Foundations of Contemporary Thought (Amir Mahdi Badi’)

• Greeks and Barbarians (Amir Mahdi Badi’)

• Family Medical Guide

• Astronomy

• Quranic Terminology

• The Philosophy of Islamic Theology (Harry Austryn Wolfson)

• Outstanding Teachers

• Shi’a Theological Thought (Martin McDermott)

• Al-Hayat (Mohammad-Reza Hakimi)

• Philosophy of Education

• Science and Society

• How to Build Strong and Lively Souls?

• Differential and Integral Calculus for Everyone

• The Logic of Scientific Discovery (Karl Popper)

Aram-Nameh

In 1982, Aram-Nameh was compiled by Dr. Mehdi Mohaghegh under the supervision of the Association of Persian Language and Literature Professors. The book includes interviews and memoirs of Ahmad Aram, documenting his contributions to Persian literature and translation.