| Mahmoud Hessabi | |
| Term Start2: | 22 January 1950 |
| Term End2: | 9 May 1961 |
| Appointer2: | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
| Office1: | Minister of Culture and Higher Education |
| Term Start1: | 6 May 1951 |
| Term End1: | 16 July 1952 |
| Primeminister1: | Mohammad Mosaddegh |
| Predecessor1: | Karim Sanjabi |
| Successor1: | Mehdi Azar |
| Occupation: | scientist |
| Birth Date: | 23 February 1903 |
| Birth Place: | Tehran, Iran |
| Resting Place: | Tafresh, Iran |
| Nationality: | Iranian |
| Alma Mater: | American University of Beirut, Sorbonne, École Superieure d'Electricité |
Mahmoud Hessabi (or Hessaby, Persian: محمود حسابی, February 23, 1903 - September 3, 1992) was an Iranian nuclear physicist and senator.[1] He was the minister of education in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh from 1951 to 1952.[2]
Hessabi was born in Tehran to the family of Abbas and Goharshad Hessabi. His family's hometown is Tafresh, Markazi province, Iran.[3] His family moved to Beirut in 1907 when his father was appointed consul at the Iranian embassy.[4] There Hessabi attended primary school. He was still in secondary school when World War I started prompting the closure of his school; Hessabi continued his education at home and in 1922, he earned a degree in road engineering from the American University of Beirut. After briefly working for the Ministry of Roads, Beirut, Hessabi travelled to Paris for further education, he was awarded a degree in electrical engineering at the École Superieure d'Electricité and later a doctorate degree in 1927. In Paris, he worked with Aime Cotton.[5]
In Tehran, Hessabi was affiliated with the University of Tehran and organized the science and engineering faculties of the university; He was teacher of Alenush Terian while she studied at the university.[6] In June 1951, Hessabi was appointed to a three-man provincial board of the Iranian oil company, the designated successor of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. In December, 1951, he replaced Karim Sanjaby as minister of education.[1] Between 1961 and 1969, Hessabi was Iran's representative on the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
In 1992 his house changed to a museum to for recognition of his life. The Mahmoud Hessabi museum is located Tajrish neighborhood in Tehran.