Akhmet Baitursynov, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Akhmet Baitursynov

Kazakh intellectual

Date of Birth: 28-Jan-1872

Place of Birth: Turgay Oblast

Date of Death: 08-Dec-1937

Profession: poet, politician, journalist

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Akhmet Baitursynov (Kazakh: Ahmet Baitursynuly; Russified: Akhmet Baitursynov) (28 January 1872 — 8 December 1937) was a Kazakh intellectual who worked in the fields of politic, poetry, linguistics and education. Baitursynov reformed the Kazakh language from the Arabic script to Latin, giving the opportunity for millions of Kazakhs living abroad to use it.
In 1912, he excluded all the purely Arabic letters not used in the Kazakh language and added letters specific to the Kazakh language.
The new alphabet, named Jana Emle (meaning New Spelling), is still used by Kazakhs living in China, Afghanistan, and in Iran.
Baitursynov also developed the basics of Kazakh and the scientific terminology for the definition of Kazakh grammar.
In 1937, he was executed by a firing squad during the Great Purge.