Richard Hughes discusses al-Bīrūnī, the great gemologist of the Islamic world.
Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī was born in 973 CE, in what is now Uzbekistan. A polymath of the Islamic Golden Age, he distinguished himself in numerous fields, including medicine, astronomy, history, mathematics, physics, mineralogy, gemmology, encyclopedism, geography, philosophy, sociology, and travel. His vast intellectual contributions rank him among the greatest minds of any era. The author of some 145 works, tragically, many of these are now lost. Given the sheer scale and depth of his intellectual legacy, any attempt to comprehensively study al-Bīrūnī’s contributions is inevitably limited and fraught with gaps. However, what we do know demonstrates that this was a remarkable man, on the order of an Aristotle or Einstein. And yet much of the world has never even heard of him. This paper will largely focus on his gemmological work, while also touching on his other accomplishments.
When
Friday, 13 February 2026, 15:30
Where
Geoliterary Society Meeting
Tucson Convention Center
Tucson, AZ
USA