Samuel M. Jordan
Encyclopedia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
).
He is sometimes referred to as the "father of modern education in Iran," though Amir Kabir
Amir Kabir
Amir Kabir , also known as Mirza Taghi Khan Amir-Nezam , also known by the titles of Atabak and Amir-e Nezam; chief minister to Naser al-Din Shah Qajar for the first three years of his reign and one of the most capable and innovative figures to appear in the whole Qajar period...
(due to his establishment of Dar ol-Fonoon
Dar ol-Fonoon
Dar al-Funun , established in 1851, was the first modern institution of higher learning in Persia.-Introduction:Founded by Amir Kabir, then the royal vizier to Nasereddin Shah, the Shah of Iran, Dar al-Funun originally was conceived as a polytechnic to train upper-class Persian youth in Medicine,...
) is generally thought to be more deserving of this title, and indeed within Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, the title refers to Amir Kabir
Amir Kabir
Amir Kabir , also known as Mirza Taghi Khan Amir-Nezam , also known by the titles of Atabak and Amir-e Nezam; chief minister to Naser al-Din Shah Qajar for the first three years of his reign and one of the most capable and innovative figures to appear in the whole Qajar period...
.
After graduating first from Lafayette College
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
and then from the Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
in 1898, he moved to Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
and spent 43 years as a missionary in Iran. Under his direction, the establishment that later took the name of Alborz High School
Alborz High School
Alborz High School , is a college preparatory high school located in the heart of Tehran, Iran. It is named after the Alborz mountain range north of Tehran.- History :...
was upgraded to the American College of Tehran and received a permanent charter from the Board of Regents of the State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
in 1932. Dr. Jordan served as President of the institution from 1899 until 1940. He received the first Scientific Medal of Iran in 1940.
Higher education in Iran
Iran has a large network of private, public, and state affiliated universities offering degrees in higher education. State-run universities of Iran are under the direct supervision of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and Ministry of Health and Medical Education .-Pre-Islamic...
, a boulevard in Tehran, Jordan Boulevard
Jordan, Tehran
Jordan is the name of a popular avenue in Tehran, Iran. It is also the name of the district in Northern Tehran through which the avenue runs.-Location:...
, was named after him. Although after the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
this street's name was changed (to Africa), the old name is still widely used. A statue of him, perhaps the only of a Westerner in Iran at the time, which is still on display in Amirkabir University, was dedicated in Alborz High School
Alborz High School
Alborz High School , is a college preparatory high school located in the heart of Tehran, Iran. It is named after the Alborz mountain range north of Tehran.- History :...
. Further, a theater in Tehran was named after him.
On 21 April 2005, the microtechnology pioneer Fariborz Maseeh
Fariborz Maseeh
Fariborz Maseeh is a pioneer in the field of micro-electro mechanical systems and philanthropist who founded IntelliSense in 1991 and later sold it in 2000. He is founder and managing principal of Picoco LLC, an investment management firm which invests in various assets and manages several...
(founder of IntelliSense
IntelliSense
IntelliSense is Microsoft's implementation of autocompletion, best known for its use in the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment...
) and the Massiah Foundation pledged $2 million to create an innovative interdisciplinary research center at UC Irvine named "The Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture" that will bring together scholars in Persian history, language, culture, art and literature.