Official
Mehmet Kadri Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Vidin in 1862/63 (AH 1279). On record 1888 to 1904, 16 annual entries.
Archive reference 90_108; 213
Life#
Mehmet Kadri Efendi was born in Vidin in 1862/63 (AH 1279) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a sheikh (şeyh). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
Mehmet Kadri began work in Istanbul in 1881/82, at about 19, with seven unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 250 kuruş. Fewer than 6 per cent of the 5,142 officials with a known apprenticeship worked unpaid for seven years or longer. Every annual entry from 1888/89 to 1903/04 places Mehmet Kadri in Istanbul, first in the correspondence office (Tahrirat Kalemi), from 1897/98 as Baskitabet Muavini.
The salary went from 250 kuruş a month in 1888/89 to 775 in 1903/04, the peak, as Baskitabet Muavini in Istanbul, when four in five paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1903/04.
Places in order of time#
Each number is a stop: the birthplace, the place of first work, then every place of the annual entries in turn. The year beside an arrow is the first entry at the new place.
Born 1862/63 (AH 1279)
First work 1881/82 (AH 1299); 1888 to 1904 (AH 1306 to 1321)
Tahrirat Kalemi 1888 to 1897 (AH 1306 to 1314); Baskitabet Muavini 1897 to 1904 (AH 1315 to 1321)
250 to 775 kuruş a month; entries in 16 years
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.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888/89 | 250 | 500 | 600 | 8% |
| 1889/90 | 400 | 500 | 500 | 27% |
| 1890/91 | 450 | 500 | 450 | 39% |
| 1891/92 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 43% |
| 1892/93 | 550 | 500 | 600 | 57% |
| 1893/94 | 550 | 500 | 545 | 58% |
| 1894/95 | 550 | 500 | 650 | 58% |
| 1895/96 | 600 | 500 | 800 | 59% |
| 1896/97 | 540 | 500 | 720 | 61% |
| 1897/98 | 590 | 500 | 73% | |
| 1898/99 | 650 | 500 | 76% | |
| 1899/1900 | 650 | 500 | 74% | |
| 1900/01 | 650 | 500 | 73% | |
| 1901/02 | 650 | 500 | 73% | |
| 1902/03 | 650 | 500 | 73% | |
| 1903/04 | 775 | 475 | 80% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1881/82AH 1299 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250first-salary field |
| 1888 to 1897AH 1306 to 1314 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 to 540 |
| 1897 to 1904AH 1315 to 1321 | Baskitabet Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 590 to 775 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1862/63 (AH 1279)
- Birthplace
- Vidin
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- seyh
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 7 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Low
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- No
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
- 1881/82 (AH 1299)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 250
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 place, same years
Of the 1,164 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Kadri Efendi had the 440th highest salary.
- Salahattin Bey16 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey16 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey16 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Melkok Efendi16 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Dikran Efendi16 shared years; highest salary 4,500 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 32 officials with the title Tahrirat Kalemi in the same years, Mehmet Kadri Efendi had the 16th highest salary.
- Mehmet Şerefeddin Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Hacı Bekir Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0006_0303; 601)9 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mehmet Fehmi Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,100 kuruş
- Mustafa Hamdi Bey9 shared years; highest salary 1,050 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Kadri Efendi had the 625th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdullah Talat Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Abdüllatif Lütfü Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdülvahhab Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 550 kuruş
- Abrik Nadir Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 300 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 8 officials born in Vidin, Mehmet Kadri Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.
- Eyüp Sabri Efendiborn 1858/59 (AH 1275); highest salary 150 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendiborn 1867/68 (AH 1284); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mustafa Lütfi Efendiborn 1856/57 (AH 1273); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Hasan Şevket Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ali Raif Efendiborn 1852/53 (AH 1269); highest salary 600 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 114 officials whose first annual entry is for 1888/89 (AH 1306), 113 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Kadri Efendi had the 30th highest salary of them.
- Mahmud Kamil Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mustafa Lütfü Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 325 kuruş
- Sarafim Saryan Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 220 kuruş
- Hüseyin Tahsin Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 750 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (16)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 450 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 550 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 550 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 550 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 540 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Baskitabet Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 590 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Baskitabet Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 650 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Baskitabet Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 650 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Baskitabet Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 650 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Baskitabet Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 650 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Baskitabet Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 650 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Baskitabet Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 775 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_108; 213 |
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 (14)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Kadri Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1279 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | vidin | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | tuna | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | seyh | 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) | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1299 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1882 | 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) | 250 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
What the sources named in this table are
- 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.
- 16 annual entries of 16 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 Kadri Efendi
- Correspondence office (Tahrirat Kalemi)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Vidin
- 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)