Dr. Gamal Hemdan was not merely an eminent geographer, but indeed a unique example of the serious and fully dedicated academician and scholar.
For almost forty years, Dr. Hemdan willingly withdrew from public life, and dedicated himself, in almost hermit-like, but positive seclusion, to intensive meditation, research and prolific writing.
An encyclopedic intellectual of a rare caliber, Dr. Hemdan managed to invest his wealth of knowledge in the service of a broad spectrum of social sciences, alonge with his major specialty: geography.
His works had a far-reaching impact on the entire field of social sciences that was almost tantamount to a revolution in geography. With a unique literary style of his own, Dr. Hemdan turned the science of geography into a universal, encyclopedic social science. Taking geography as an access road to other branches, he skillfully used this multi-disciplinary approach to study Egypt’s location, history, culture and future.
Birth: Hemdan was born in the Qalyoubia Governarate on Feb. 2, 1928. His father, a teacher of Arabic, had been discharged from Al Azhar educational institution on charges of participating in demonstrations of the Egyptian Revolution of 1919.
At the age of eight, he joined the primary school. He then moved to the prestigious Tawfiqiyya secondary school, which had a nationwide fame for its high educational standard and sports facilities. There, he became aware of his love and innate talent for geography.
Having completed his secondary education in 1944, with distinction, ranking sixth on the list of graduates nationwide, he joined the Department of Geography at the Cairo University, Faculty of Arts. At the age of twenty, he obtained his B.A with Distinction.He was soon appointed a staff member at the Faculty of Arts, where he was granted a scholarship in the UK to obtain his MA and PhD degrees .There, he was a student of the eminent Enghlish geographer, Professor Austen Miller.
Hemdan’s M.A thesis entitled “Population of the Nile Mid Delta; Past and Present" was highly commended by his professor. He believed that the thesis was eligible to a PhD. In 1951, Hemdan returned to Egypt to collect his scientific data.
In 1953, he obtained his PhD . Back to Cairo, he was appointed a teacher at the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University. Upon his return, Hemdan found out that many changes were taking place in the Egyptian society, following the 1952 Revolution.
He was looking forward to positively contribute, through his intellectual and scientific efforts, to the development of the Egyptian society.
However, with his rare, high sensitivity, Hemdan found out he was unable to cope with some negative social aspects affecting his academic career.
He preferred to withdraw, in silence from public life and willingly abandoned his academic career. Although Hemdan lived, physically, in voluntary almost hermit-like seclusion, yet he was most productive as a thinker and scholar. Apparently, this self-imposed positive solitude provided him with the right atmosphere for unceasing, uninterrupted and free meditation, research and innovation.
The works produced during his solitude vividly show his exceptional talent, not only as a geographer but also as a social scientist. To Hemdan, geography was a tool whereby to induce and take inspiration from the spirit of place to reach an accurate scientific definition of its characteristic.
He thought of geography both as a science, art and philosophy. He advocated what he called “Living Geography”; i.e. every day geography. If adequately defined, the pattern, nature, conditions and laws relating to life in that place will be thoroughly identified.
Hemdan’s natural talent for painting and calligraphy and his liking of music and singing were instrumental to his exceptional excellence in geography.
Hemdan’s outstanding intellectual and geographical achievements constituted the most important accomplishment of the Egyptian geographical school, that stresses Egypt’s uniqueness in terms of time and place, of geography and history. In his works, he adopted a multi-disciplinary approach, encompassing geography, history, sociology, politics and culture.
Hemdan left behind a rich legacy of writings in both Arabic and English, including seventeen books in Arabic and eight in English, in addition to several articles in Arabic, published in newspapers, magazines and other publications .
He had a futuristic outlook in his writings. He predicted several events, which, he thought, were compatible or incompatible with the facts of geography. Chief of these was his prediction of the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
His encyclopedic work: "The Personality of Egypt", the most outstanding of his intellectual achievements, was the product of ten years of dedicated efforts, during which time he used 245 Arabic and 691 foreign reference books in several languages.
In this prestigious book, he elaborately expounded the constituent factors making-up the Egyptian personality since the early days of the Pharaohs. To him, Egypt was the central chapter of the book of geography, which turned into the opening chapter of the book of history, maintaining all through a coherent civilization across history. Egypt, to Hemdan was a unique non-repetitive geographical phenomenon. Apart from the “Description of Egypt”, which appeared in print during the French Expedition to Egypt , Hemdan’s book "The Personality of Egypt" remains an unprecedented scientific masterpiece on Egypt.
Awards: State Incentive Prize in Arts and Letters, 1959 State Prize of Meritin Social Science, 1986 Scientific Criticism Award , by the State of Kuwait, 1986 Order of Merit of the First Class for Science and Arts, 1988
In line with his full dedication to science and his almost ascetic attitude to formalities, he refused to break away from his self-imposed solitude. Apart from the first prize awarded to him in 1959, he would not to receive any other prize.
In April 17, 1993, Dr. Gamal Hemdan died, leaving behind a huge scientific legacy, that would rightly place him as an outstanding landmark in the modern Egyptian enlightening movement .
Arabic Books: Studies on the Arab World; Cairo, 1958 Patterns of the Environment, Cairo, 1958 Study on Urban Geography; Cairo, 1958 The Arab City, Cairo, 1964 Arab Oil, Cairo, 1964 Colonization and Liberation in the Arab World, Cairo, 1964 Anthropology of Jews, Cairo, 1967 Personality of Egypt, Dar el-Helal Publications, Cairo, 1967 The Strategy of Colonization and Liberation, Cairo, 1978 Introduction to "Cairo" " by Desmond Stewart, translated by Yehya Haqqi, 1969 The Contemporary Islamic World, Cairo, 1971 Between Europe and Asia: A Study in the Geographic Counterparts, Cairo, 1972 The Arab Republic of Libya: A Study in Geopolitics, Cairo 1973 6th of October War in the International Strategy, Cairo, 1974. The Suez Canal, Cairo, 1975 New Africa, Cairo, 1975 Personality of Egypt: A Study in the Genius of the Place, four volumes, Cairo, 1975-84
English Books: Population of the Nile Mid-Delta, Past and Present, Reading University, June 1953, 2 volumes Khartoum : Study of a City, Geog. Review, 1956 Studies in Egyptian Ubranism, Cairo, 1960 Evolution of Irrigation and Agriculture in Egypt A History of Land Use in Arid Regions, Ed . L. Dubley Stamp UNESCO, Paris, 1961 Egypt: The Land and the People, A Guide Book to Geology, 1962 Pattern of Medieval Urbanism in Arab World, Geog. Review, April 1962 A Political Map of the New Africa, Geog. Review October 1963 The Four Dimensions of Egypt

Engineer, mathematician, and scientist. Mahmud Al-Falaki was born in the village of al-Hissa (Gharbiyya province); his father died early, and he was brought up by a brother and sent to Muhummad Ali's Polytechnic School in the Citadel, He later taught mathematics and astronomy at that school.
Chosen to be a part of 'ABBAS I's student scholorship to Europe in 1851, he spent nine years in Paris. Upon his return to Cairo, Khedive SA'ID entrusted him with drawing maps, among them the first complete topographic map of Egypt .
He held several important government posts, including public works minister, and the president of the Khedivial Geographic Society.
He represented Egypt at the International Congress of Geographer in Venice in 1881 and in Paris in 1885.
As minister of education (1884-1885) he introduced several important educational reforms, one of which was to require that the foreign schools receiving subsidies from the Egyptian government undergo regular inspections.
In his published writings, he tried to prove that the Giza Pyramids were built for astronomical purposes; he also established the exact birth and death dates of probhet Muhammad.
He directed the Education Ministry and the Geographical Society until his death in Cairo.

Dr. Farouk al-Baz, originally an Egyptian to the core, is a world scientist who has contributed over four decades a great deal of scientific research that has changed our concepts and visions about the cosmos and the planets, the depths of the earth and the unlimited vistas of space.
Born in Egypt in 1938, Baz completed his education and obtained B.SC in chemistry and geology from Ein Shams university in 1958. In the same year, he left for the United States where he got M.S in geology, Mioussuri University.
Then he obtained his PH.D in economic geology in 1964 and gained honorary membership of several national and international societies as well as fellowships of the U.S geological societies, the American Union for the progress of sciences, the Explorers Club in New York, University Club of Boston and Cosmos Club in Washington.
Dr. Baz has complied more than 200 scientific research and wrote 12 books, mainly about the moon, Astronauts and Apollo space shuttles.
He is appointed a visiting professor in several American and Arab universities, supervising post-graduate studies and giving lectures in several technical institutes worldwide.
Farouk al-Baz lives with his American wife and four daughters in the United States. Currently, he is occupying the post of Director of the Space Research Institution at Boston University.

• Mohamed Naguib Youssef was born on February 20, 1901, Khartoum, Sudan. He was the eldest of nine children to an Egyptian father and a Sudanese mother. He lived with his father, an officer in the Egyptian army, till he obtained the secondary school certificate in 1917.
• Graduated from Military college, Infantry, in 1921.
• Obtained law degree in 1927, PH.D. in political economy in 1931.
• Participated in fighting against German troops in 1943.
• Participated in Palestine War 1948.
• Injured in Palestine War.
• Nominated as War Minister in El-Hilali government but the royal palace opposed this step.
• Elected as chairman of Officers Club in July 1952.
• Free Officers selected Mohamed Naguib to be July Revolution Commander .
• First President of the Republic following the outbreak of July 23 Revolution.
• Formed the first government of revolution in September 1952.
• Announced the Republic on June 18, 1953.
• Dismissed from presidency in February 1954.
• Died on August 28, 1984.

He was born in Meit Abul Kom village in Menoufeya Govornorate.
He was graduated from the Military Academy in 1938 and was appointed in the Signal Corps.
When the revolution took place, he was assigned to take over the Radio and TV networks and announce the outbreak of the revolution to the Egyptian people.
He was appointed Minister of State in 1954 and then Secretary to the National Union in 1959.
He was elected the Speaker of the People’s Assembly from 1960 to 1968.
He was appointed Vice-President of the Republic and a member of the Presidential Council in 1964.
He was elected in the higher executive committee of the Arab Socialist Union (ASU) and as secretariat of the National Political Committee in September 1986.
He was reappointed Vice-President of the Republic in December 1969.
He was elected President of the Republic in October 1970 after the death of Gamal Abd El-Nasser and was reelected in October 1976.
He led and planned the 1973 war and the crossing of the Suez Canal which resulted in the victory of the Egyptian army.
He led the peace process to re-obtain Sinai.
He wrote various books: “The Full Story of the Revolution”, “Unknown Pages of the Revolution”, “Son, This Is Your Uncle Gamal”, “In Search of Identity”.
He was assassinated by a group of fundamentalists on October 6, 1981.