Mirza Hacızade Gökgöl (1897–1981) is considered one of the key figures in the development of plant genetic resources and breeding science in Türkiye. Between 1925 and 1950, he collected plant genetic materials from across the country and used them in breeding programs. He is recognized as a pioneer in plant genetic resources research in Türkiye.

He was born on September 14, 1897, in Ganja, Azerbaijan, as the eldest of six children. His mother, Meshadi Yakut, was a homemaker, and his father, Yusuf Hacızade, was a merchant. After graduating from Ganja Boys’ High School in May 1915, he studied at the Novoalexandriysk Institute of Agriculture and Forestry in Krakow, Ukraine, between 1916 and 1917. During his studies, the Russian Revolutionary Movement began, forcing him to return to Azerbaijan, which had declared independence as the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR).

In 1918, the ADR selected 100 young people to pursue higher education abroad, and Hacızade was among them. He first studied for six months at the Portici Agricultural School in Naples, Italy, and later continued at the Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule (Agricultural College) in Berlin. Until his graduation in November 1920, he worked under the supervision of renowned geneticist Erwin Baur (1875–1933) and agricultural scientist Kurt Opitz (1877–1958). He successfully passed his diploma examination in June 1925, completing his doctorate.

Following the Soviet takeover of Azerbaijan, the region became unsafe for students abroad to return. While continuing his studies in Berlin, he encountered difficulties in communication and financial support from Azerbaijan. After April 1920, the Republic of Türkiye assumed responsibility for covering his educational expenses. During his work with Dr. Baur, the Turkish government invited him to establish an agricultural research station in Istanbul (1926). He later settled in Türkiye and moved the institute he founded in Halkalı to Yeşilköy in 1931.

With the introduction of the Surname Law on June 21, 1934, requiring all Turkish citizens to adopt surnames, Mirza Hacızade took the surname “Gökgöl” on December 17, 1934. In an interview, his son, the well-known actor Demir Gökgöl, stated that his father chose the surname to honor his homeland—naming himself after Lake Göygöl (“Blue Lake” in Azerbaijani), near the city of Ganja.

Dr. Mirza Gökgöl collected thousands of seed samples from across Türkiye. Although he primarily focused on cereals, he also collected and characterized material from other plant groups at the Yeşilköy Agricultural Research Station. After characterizing thousands of accessions, he published a two-volume work titled Wheats of Turkey, in which all specimens were described botanically and morphologically. From over 18,000 wheat samples, he identified and published 256 new botanical varieties.

Russian scientist Nikolai Vavilov, who proposed the Theory of Centers of Origin of Cultivated Plants, considered a high degree of morphological diversity as a key indicator of a genetic center. Vavilov proposed that Anatolia was the center of origin for diploid einkorn wheat, Ethiopia for tetraploid wheat, and Afghanistan and Iran for hexaploid wheat. Based on his field studies, Gökgöl reported that the number of botanical wheat varieties in Türkiye was significantly higher than in other regions. As a result, he concluded that Anatolia and its surrounding areas—Iran, Syria, Palestine, and the South Caucasus—constituted the center of diversity and origin for diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid wheats.

Throughout his career, Dr. Gökgöl published 37 articles and books on various plant species, primarily focusing on cereals. Of the 43 publications he produced between 1930 and 1965, nine were written in German and one in French. Three were translations of works by Erwin Baur.

After retiring in 1961, he continued his academic work as a visiting lecturer in Istanbul and Izmir. Although he declined a faculty position at the University of Göttingen, he lectured at eight German universities and maintained close professional and personal ties with German scientists, particularly with colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne.

Dr. Mirza Gökgöl passed away on January 28, 1981. He was laid to rest at the Karacaahmet Cemetery in Istanbul.