Official
Mehmet Lütfi Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1880/81 (AH 1298). On record 1896 to 1902, 6 annual entries. Death recorded 1902/03.
Archive reference 0100_0245/487
Life#
Mehmet Lütfi Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1880/81 (AH 1298) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a telegraph official (telgraf memuru). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Lütfi also held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
At about 14, in 1894/95, Mehmet Lütfi began work in Istanbul, with two unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 25 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1896/97 to 1901/02 places Mehmet Lütfi in the same office, accounts office (Muhasebe Kalemi), in Istanbul, the birthplace.
Pay rose from 25 kuruş a month in 1896/97 to a peak of 190 in 1901/02, in the Muhasebe Kalemi in Istanbul, when one in ten paid officials earned less. Over six years the salaries add up to 7,380 kuruş, 20 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned. The last annual entry is for 1901/02; the list of 1902/03 (AH 1320) gives the status word Vefat (death).
Career and salary#
Log scale: equal steps are equal ratios. The median of the same title is drawn for the years in which at least 5 officials with that title had a salary, and the median of the same province for the years in which at least 5 officials were paid in the province of the official's salary that year.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Median, same province | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896/97 | 25 | 500 | 245 | 425 | 0% |
| 1897/98 | 50 | 500 | 275 | 425 | 0% |
| 1898/99 | 50 | 500 | 262.5 | 440 | 0% |
| 1899/1900 | 150 | 500 | 300 | 450 | 4% |
| 1900/01 | 150 | 500 | 300 | 450 | 4% |
| 1901/02 | 190 | 500 | 340 | 440 | 9% |
Paid less: the share of the other officials with a salary that year who earned less.
Point at a year for its salary, title, place and the median of all officials paid that year. Choose a row of the table to mark its years in the charts and its stop on the map.
| Years | Title | Place | Salary (kuruş a month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1894/95AH 1312 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 25first-salary field |
| 1896 to 1902AH 1314 to 1319 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 25 to 190 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Death recorded | ||
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1880/81 (AH 1298)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Telgraf Memuru
- Death recorded
- 1902/03 (AH 1320)the year of the annual list with the word Vefat, not a date of death
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 2 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Middle
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- Yes
The years count all schooling up to that school, as the record gives them.
Languages
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1894/95 (AH 1312)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 25
Recorded with#
Officials who share a place, a job title, a school, a birthplace or the year of the first annual entry. Ranks compare the highest monthly salary of each official.
Same post (job title and place), same years
Of the 80 officials who held Muhasebe Kalemi in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 74th highest salary.
- Osman Kamil Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 2,000 kuruş
- Hüseyin Rıza Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Emin Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Refet Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,480 kuruş
- Mehmet Kemal Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,300 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 829 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 759th highest salary.
- Hüseyin Hasip Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 20,000 kuruş
- Salahattin Bey6 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey6 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey6 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Fahri Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 98 officials with the title Muhasebe Kalemi in the same years, Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 92nd highest salary.
- Osman Kamil Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 2,000 kuruş
- Hüseyin Rıza Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Emin Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Refet Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,480 kuruş
- Mehmet Kemal Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,300 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 2,908th highest salary of them.
- Abdülaziz Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Abdülkerim Hüsnü Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 540 kuruş
- Abdullah Kamil Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Abdullatif Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 700 kuruş
- Abdurrahman Hilmi Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 1,704th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Kamil Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Ahmet Celal Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ahmet Cemal Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmet İzzet Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Ahmet Kemal Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 300 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 164 officials whose first annual entry is for 1896/97 (AH 1314), 163 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 150th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Kamil Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mehmet Refik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Hafız Ahmet Muhtar Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 375 kuruş
- Mehmet Raik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mustafa Arif Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 150 kuruş
All 164 officials whose first annual entry is for 1896/97 (AH 1314)
Full record
Annual entries (6)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 25 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0245/487 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0245/487 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0245/487 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0245/487 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0245/487 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 190 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0245/487 |
What the sources named in this table are
- Recovered annual personnel extract
- The merged annual personnel file recovered for the replication of the first paper. Annual entries are taken from it for every official it holds.
Sources and original values (15)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Lütfi Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1298 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | telgraf memuru | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Religion | Musluman | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Nationality or community | Turkish | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Schooling | ||
| School | Rusdiye Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of schooling | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 2 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1312 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1894 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | istanbul | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 25 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Status | ||
| Death recorded under the year (AH) | 1320 | Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy); Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy) |
What the sources named in this table are
- Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy)
- A copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read for the title wording of each year. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death.
- Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy)
- A second copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read in the same way. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death. Two copies that agree are one piece of evidence, not two.
- Earlier annual personnel extract
- The detailed annual personnel file of October 2024. An official found only in this file keeps the years, titles and salaries it gives.
- Recovered annual personnel extract
- The merged annual personnel file recovered for the replication of the first paper. Annual entries are taken from it for every official it holds.
- Personnel attributes extract
- The detailed personnel file of September 2025, read for personal details such as birth, schooling and first work.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
- 6 annual entries of 6 belong to the saved estimation sample of the paper.
How to read this record: calendar years, years without an annual entry, salaries and sources.
Subjects
- Mehmet Lütfi Efendi
- Accounts office (Muhasebe Kalemi)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Biography of an Ottoman official (Osmanlı memurunun biyografisi)
- Career and pay (memuriyet ve maaş)
- Ottoman history (Osmanlı tarihi)
- Ottoman bureaucracy (Osmanlı bürokrasisi)
- Ottoman officials (Osmanlı'da memurlar)
- Ottoman personnel registers (Sicill-i Ahvâl defterleri)
- Ottoman registers (Osmanlı defterleri)