Solayman Haïm

Who was Solayman Haïm?

Solayman Haïm, whose dictionaries appeared in English under the name Sulayman Hayyim, was an Iranian lexicographer, translator, playwright and essayist, often called "Iran's Father of the bilingual dictionary".

Haïm was born into an Iranian Jewish family. His father Haïm Eshāq was a quilter. both of his parents were Kalimis of Shirazi origin who had migrated to Tehran. Haïm started his education in a Maktabkhaneh called Noor that belonged to Christian missionaries in Tehran. He learned the Hebrew language and religious matters from the well-known Hakham Haïm Moreh and became his pupil and assistant when Moreh became blind. He continued his studies in Ettehad secondary school, where he learned French and Hebrew. He was 19 when he entered the American High School, which was run by a group of American missionaries under the supervision of the legendary Samuel M. Jordan. At the college, young Solayman excelled in English, Persian literature, and music. He then started to teach English in 1915 at American College. Soon after, he began working on the first series of bilingual dictionaries printed in Persian, a task that earned him the honorary name "Word Master." Later, he switched to translation. He is known to have worked for the Iranian Ministry of Finance for a number of years as a translator to Dr. Arthur Millspaugh, an American adviser to Iranian government on fiscal matters.