Besim Omer Akalin: “The Doyen of Midwives”

Besim Omer Akalin was born on July 1, 1862 in Istanbul. He completed his primary education in Pristina, the capital city of Kosovo. He started his secondary education in the Civil Junior High School in Kosovo. However, he moved to Istanbul from here and completed his secondary education in Kuleli Military Medicine School. He completed his higher education as a military student at the Faculty of Medicine called “Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şâhâne” at that time.


He served as a military doctor for a while. He was sent to Paris in France for his specialty training. “The Date of Birth”, in which he put his experiences into a book, is known as the first contemporary work on birth in our country. He returned to Turkey in 1891 and was promoted to brigadier general. Next year, he opened Turkey's first Obstetrics Clinic near the Faculty of Medicine.


Besim Omer Akalin, the founder of modern midwifery, brought the first books published in the field of midwifery, “Postpartum”, “My Advices to Midwifes” and "Midwifery" to our country. Following the developments of nursing science abroad, Besim Omer Akalin applied the method in Istanbul which was formerly applied for the first time in Japan to train female nurse’s aide while he was resisting to the obstacle thought against women's labour in Turkey and their touching to men even if it is in the line of job. For the first time, Turkish women took part in the care of wounded soldiers through the training he gaved.


Besim Omer Akalin served as the General Manager of the Red Crescent in the Canakkale War. In 1919, he was elected as the Rector of “Darülfünun”, which is now Istanbul University. He pioneered the training of many qualified healthcare professionals thanks to his performed duties.


In addition to taking part in the health sector, he also served as Bilecik Deputy in the 5th and 6th terms of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. At the same time, he made history as the only person who was not on the ship although he had a ticket as he was late for the journey in the Titanic disaster in 1912.


He passed away in Ankara on March 19, 1940. He left behind a life full of sincerity, faith and struggle, as well as services to be remembered with gratitude.