105th Anniversary of the Birth of World-Renowned Scientist Lotfi Zadeh

Today is the birthday of American mathematician, author of the term "fuzzy logic" and one of the founders of fuzzy set theory Lotfi Zadeh.

Lotfi Zadeh (real name - Lotfi Aleskerzadeh) was born in the village of Novkhany near Baku on February 4, 1921.

His father, journalist Rahim Aleskerzadeh, was an Azerbaijani from Ardabil, his mother, pediatrician Feiga (Fanya) Korenman, was of Jewish origin from Odessa.

From first to fourth grade, Lotfi studied at Baku Russian school No. 16, in childhood he read a lot - both classical works of Russian literature and world classics in Russian translations.

In 1931, the Aleskerzadeh family moved to Iran due to the difficult economic situation in the country. For eight years, the future scientist studied at the American College of Tehran (later known as Alborz - a missionary Presbyterian school with instruction in Farsi), then at the electrical engineering faculty at Tehran University (graduated in 1942).

He met his future wife Fanya Zand (married name Fay Zadeh, 1920-2017) from a family of Jews from Dvinsk, who later moved to Germany and fled from there to Tehran after the Nazis came to power, back in school. Many years later, Fay Zadeh became the author of the most complete biography of her husband - "My Life and Travels with the Father of Fuzzy Logic". The book was published in English in 1998.

After graduating from university, Lotfi Zadeh worked with his father, who supplied construction materials for American troops stationed in Iran. In July 1944, he moved to the United States and in September enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (in 1946 he received a master's degree in electrical engineering), after which he entered graduate school at Columbia University, and after defending his dissertation in 1949 remained there as an assistant in the engineering department. From 1959 he worked at the University of California (Berkeley).

In 1965, he published a fundamental work on fuzzy set theory, in which he outlined the mathematical apparatus of this theory. In 1973, he proposed the theory of fuzzy logic, later - the theory of soft computing, as well as the theory of computing with words and perceptions.

His proposed "fuzzy logic" was an attempt to link mathematics with the intuitive way of communication that people turn to, are guided by in communication and interact with the world.

In 1965 and 2008 he visited Baku. In December 2008, approximately a month after returning from Baku to Berkeley, the scientist had a heart attack. However, recovering from the illness, he returned to work.

In August 2017, Lotfi Zadeh addressed a letter to the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan with a request to bury him in Azerbaijan.

The scientist died on September 6, 2017. Before his death, he asked to be buried according to Muslim customs with a funeral prayer. The body of the deceased was delivered to Baku on September 29 and buried at the Alley of Honor. On September 6, 2018, a monument by Omar Eldarov was installed on the grave.

Lotfi Zadeh - laureate of the Honda Prize (1989), Campé de Fériet (1992), Okawa (1996), "Golden Goose" (2018). He was awarded the Richard Hamming Medal (1992), Rufus Oldenburger (1993), IEEE Medal of Honor (1995), Egleston (2007) and Benjamin Franklin (2009), as well as the Nizami Ganjavi Gold Medal (2016).

In 2011, for outstanding services in establishing intercultural dialogue through contribution to the development of science and technology, he was awarded the "Dostlug" Order. One of the streets in the city of Baku bears the name of Lotfi Zadeh. In 2021, a stamp dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the scientist was issued in Azerbaijan.

Daughter Stella Zadeh - journalist (died in 2006), son Norman Zadeh, also known as Norm Zada (born 1950) - specialist in theoretical computer science, professional poker player, author of a poker guide, founder and editor of men's magazine Perfect 10.

Cousin Jannet Selimova (born 1940) - director of the Samed Vurgun Russian Drama Theater, artistic director of the Baku Chamber Theater, People's Artist of Azerbaijan.