Abdollah Anvar Information

Anvar, Seyyed Abdollah (born 1924)), Iranian contemporary author, translator, book catalog writer, bibliographer, culture researcher, manuscript evaluator, and mathematician Childhood He was born in the Sanieodolleh quarter (today Saadi Ave.) in an educated family. His father Seyyed Yaqoob Anvar Shirazi, religious jurisprudent and philosopher with an intermediary was the apprentice of Haj Molla Hadi Sabzevari, one of the greatest Iranian philosopher of 19 Century and his mother was from the Qajar tribe and the cousin of Mirza Ali Khan Aminodolleh, the Prime Minister of Nassereddin Shah. Seyyed Yaqoob Anvar besides teaching the sciences of religious schools, entered the arena of struggle against absolutism and dictatorship and joined the circles of constitutionalists movement and finally with the victory of the movement, he was selected as a parliament member two or three times. Educations Abdollah Anvar before attaining the years of formal education, learned writing, reading, and counting the figures from his father and in 1931 he was sent to the Sirus school and passed the primary course in that school then he was sent to Alborz American college to follow the secondary course and within the years of 1937 to 1941, he passed the high school course and by his father’s advice, he passed simultaneously the mathematics branch along with the literary branch. Among his teachers in Alborz college, he recalls Khalil Maleki (a man who had a determinant role in the oil Nationalization Movement), Dr. Karim Mojtahedi (later the principal of the college), and Dr. Mohammad Sanaaei, one of the celebrated sociologists. Anvar after passing the entering examination of Tehran University, followed his studies in the field of Law, in the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Tehran University. In this phase, he attended the classes of great masters such as Dr. Moazzami, Ali Asghar Poorhomayon, and Dr. Hedayati. He was graduated from the Faculty of Law in 1945 and in 1947 since he was studying mathematics in the Teacher Training College, he was graduated from that College too. In the subjects of geometry and mathematics, he was the student of great men such as Dr. Mohsen Hashtroodi, and engineer Mohammad Behjat. He also passed a course of religious lessons and studied the Arabic Language from his father and the Exegesis of Molla Hadi’s Manzumeh and Molla Sadra’s Asfar (the philosophical books) from Morteza Motahari and Kefayat-ol-Osool from Master Abolqasem Gorji. Professional Activities Abdollah Anvar after receiving his certificate from Tehran University was employed by Iran National Bank, but after a while, he resigned from there and started teaching descriptive geometry, algebra, discursive mechanics, analysis. After two years he was called for military service and he was assigned to the juridical section of Qasr barracks as the assistance of interrogator and then was employed by the Ministry of Education and for 5 years he taught in various high schools as an English teacher and for 2 years he served as translator of English and French texts in the Corresponding Office of the Ministry of Culture, then by the suggestion of Dr. Mahdi Mohaqeq he was replaced by him and was assigned as the manager of the manuscript section of National Library and up to retirement for 23 years he managed this section. During the years he was managing this section along with translating and creating precious and sumptuous works he compiled an analytical and descriptive catalog of Persian and Arabic manuscripts in ten volumes that cover 7000 entries. From 1958 he also for fourteen years cooperated with Dehkhoda Logatnama (encyclopedia). Abdollah Anvar knows English, Arabic, and French Languages and heretofore has participated and delivered speeches in various national and international congresses and symposiums like the World Congregation of American Orientalists in Toronto, the World Philosophy Congress in New York, and the Congresses of Farabi, Avicenna, Khaja Nassireddin Toosi and Qotbeddin Shirazi. He is one of the eyewitnesses of 28 Mordad (August, 18) 1953 coup d’ eta in Tehran, the capital city of Iran.