On August 19, 1915 the father of modern Turkish poetry, Tevfik Fikret died in Istanbul. 

In attempting to define a new literature, Tevfik Fikret and his contemporaries often wrote in an obscure style and in language containing many Arabic and Persian words not easily accessible to the average reader. Greatly influenced by the French Symbolist poets, he sought to adapt Turkish poetry to Western themes and verse forms. Tevfik Fikret | Ottoman Empire, Symbolism, Poetry | Britannica

 

Tevfik Fikret (1867-1915)
Part of the Cultural Celebrities set issued by Türkiye in 1965

In his poem “Umaci”, he proposes science instead of believing in superstitions. In his poem “Adhan”, he criticizes the frightening of children with religion and recommends love instead of fear. In his poem “Mahallebim ve Mektebim”, he emphasizes the importance of the school; He wants more than anyone else that children and young people should grow up as educated individuals.  
Öner Yağcı wrote: Youth in the mirror of Tevfik Fikret | Republic

On this day in 2024 we celebrated Indian educator and writer Hazari Prasad Dwivedi