Notable people

• PersonShah Ismail I (Khatai)Founder of the Safavid state (1487–1524) and a poet writing in Azerbaijani under the pen name Khatai.Azerbaijan
• PersonMolla Panah VagifPoet and vizier of the Karabakh Khanate (1717–1797) who brought Azerbaijani poetry close to the spoken language.Azerbaijan
• PersonMammad Amin RasulzadeA founder of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1884–1955) and chairman of the National Council that declared independence on 28 May 1918.Azerbaijan
• PersonFatali Khan KhoyskiFirst prime minister of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1875–1920).Azerbaijan

• PersonNizami GanjaviGreat poet and thinker (c. 1141–1209), author of the Khamsa, a cycle of five long poems.Azerbaijan
• PersonImadaddin NasimiHurufi poet (c. 1369–1417), one of the first great masters of lyric poetry in Azerbaijani.Azerbaijan
• PersonMuhammad FuzuliGreat lyric poet (c. 1494–1556), author of Leyli and Majnun in Azerbaijani.Azerbaijan
• PersonShah Ismail I (Khatai)Founder of the Safavid state (1487–1524) and a poet writing in Azerbaijani under the pen name Khatai.Azerbaijan
• PersonMolla Panah VagifPoet and vizier of the Karabakh Khanate (1717–1797) who brought Azerbaijani poetry close to the spoken language.Azerbaijan
• PersonKhurshidbanu NatavanPoet and philanthropist (1832–1897), daughter of the last khan of Karabakh, who built Shusha's first water supply.Azerbaijan
• PersonMirza Fatali AkhundzadePlaywright and thinker (1812–1878), founder of Azerbaijani drama.Azerbaijan
• PersonJalil MammadguluzadehWriter and journalist (1866–1932), founder of the famous satirical magazine Molla Nasraddin.Azerbaijan

• PersonUzeyir HajibeyliFounder of Azerbaijani professional music (1885–1948), composer of the first opera of the Muslim East and of Azerbaijan's national anthem.Azerbaijan
• PersonGara GarayevComposer (1918–1982) of the ballets The Seven Beauties and The Path of Thunder, one of the masters of Azerbaijani symphonic music.Azerbaijan
• PersonFikrat AmirovComposer (1922–1984) who created the symphonic mugham, author of Shur, Kurd Ovshari and the ballet One Thousand and One Nights.Azerbaijan
• PersonBulbulSinger and founder of the Azerbaijani vocal school (1897–1961), the first to sing the title role in Koroghlu.Azerbaijan
• PersonRashid BehbudovSinger and actor (1915–1989) who won world fame as Asgar in the film Arshin Mal Alan and founded the Azerbaijan State Song Theatre.Azerbaijan
• PersonMuslim MagomayevBaritone, pop and opera singer (1942–2008), one of the best-loved voices of the former Soviet Union.Azerbaijan
• PersonVagif MustafazadePianist and composer (1940–1979), creator of jazz mugham.Azerbaijan
• PersonKhan ShushinskiOne of the greatest mugham singers of the 20th century (1901–1979), a master of the Karabakh school.Azerbaijan

This section is being filled — articles are on their way.

• PersonLotfi A. ZadehBaku-born mathematician (1921–2017), founder of fuzzy logic.Azerbaijan
• PersonYusif MammadaliyevChemist (1905–1961) who developed a technology for high-octane aviation fuel during the Second World War.Azerbaijan

• PersonSamad bey MehmandarovArtillery general (1855–1931), hero of the defence of Port Arthur and war minister of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.Azerbaijan
• PersonAliagha ShikhlinskiGeneral known as "the god of artillery" (1865–1943), author of the "Shikhlinski triangle" firing method.Azerbaijan
• PersonHazi AslanovTank commander (1910–1945), twice Hero of the Soviet Union.Azerbaijan
• PersonMehdi HuseynzadePartisan who fought in Italy and Slovenia in the Second World War (1918–1944), the Hero of the Soviet Union known as "Mikhailo".Azerbaijan
• PersonMubariz IbrahimovNational Hero of Azerbaijan (1988–2010), a warrant officer killed on the line of contact during the occupation.Azerbaijan

• PersonNamig AbdullayevFreestyle wrestler and Sydney 2000 Olympic champion — winner of one of independent Azerbaijan's first Olympic golds.Azerbaijan
• PersonZemfira MeftahatdinovaShooter and Sydney 2000 Olympic skeet champion, one of independent Azerbaijan's first Olympic champions.Azerbaijan
• PersonFarid MansurovGreco-Roman wrestler and Athens 2004 Olympic champion.Azerbaijan
• PersonToghrul AsgarovFreestyle wrestler, London 2012 Olympic champion and Rio 2016 silver medallist.Azerbaijan
• PersonSharif SharifovFreestyle wrestler, London 2012 Olympic champion and Rio 2016 bronze medallist.Azerbaijan
• PersonTeimour RadjabovChess player who became a grandmaster at 14 and won the FIDE World Cup in 2019.Azerbaijan
• PersonShakhriyar MamedyarovChess player, twice world junior champion and an Azerbaijani grandmaster who rose near the top of the world rankings.Azerbaijan

This section is being filled — articles are on their way.

• PersonHaji Zeynalabdin TaghiyevOil millionaire and philanthropist (1838–1924) who opened the first secular school for girls in the Muslim East.Azerbaijan

Did you know?

• Fuzzy logic now runs in thousands of devices, from washing machines to trains.

  Lotfi A. Zadeh →

• His birthday, 18 September, is Azerbaijan's National Music Day.

  Uzeyir Hajibeyli →