Mazhar Osman Uzman

Mazhar Osman, (1884 - 1951), was a specialist in mental and neurological diseases, and a Turkish physician who established the first modern mental health hospital in Turkey.

Mazhar Osman, who graduated from the "Military Medical School" in 1904 with the rank of Captain, began his career as an assistant instructor in the "Gülhane Military Hospital Psychiatry Department". In 1908, he went to Berlin and Munich to receive specialized training in neurology and psychology. Upon returning to Gülhane, he became the chief physician and director of the "Mental Illness Observation Unit" at Haseki in 1914.

Later, he was appointed as a specialist in Psychiatry and Neurology at "Haydarpaşa Military Hospital". Mazhar Osman requested the land where Reşadiye Barracks, an abandoned barracks in Bakırköy, was located from the state. The process, which began in 1924 with the approval of the then President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Prime Minister İsmet İnönü, and Minister of Interior Refik Saydam, was completed with the establishment of Bakırköy Mental and Neurological Diseases Hospital on June 15, 1927. Mazhar Osman served as the Chief Physician at the hospital for a long time. In 1933, he was appointed as an ordinary professor at the Psychiatry Clinic of Istanbul University. He resigned from his position as Chief Physician in 1941 and continued his work as a faculty member until his retirement in 1951.

Usman was a founder of health associations such as the Turkish Neuro-Psychiatry Society, as well as the Society for Combating Alcoholism. He authored various professional works such as Sinir Hastalıkları (Neurological Diseases) (1935-1936, 2 volumes) and Keyif Veren Zehirler (Euphoric Poisons) (1934). He was elected as an honorary member of foreign health organizations such as the Hamburg Mental Illness Association, the French Neurology Society, and the New York Academy of Neurology. He played a significant role in the establishment of the first serology, neuro-pathology, and experimental psychology laboratories in Turkey. He passed away in 1951.

Bakırköy Mental and Neurological Diseases Hospital was also known as "Mazhar Osman Hospital" for a period.