Old Egyptian Academic Institutions: 1950
In 1950, the Egyptian post issued a set of three stamps commemorating three Egyptian academic institutions.
Fuad 1st University
Fuad 1st university is the ancester for the current Cairo university.
In March 1925, the king Fuad I issued a decree to establish a public university in the name of the Egyptian University. The university had four faculties: Arts, Sciences, Medicine, and Law. In the same year, the Faculty of Medicine included a School of Pharmacy.
The origins of the university Fouad 1st can be traced back to the reign of Mohammad Ali Pacha. He established the college of Engineeriong in 1816, which was the first modern academic institution in Egypt. He also established the first modern school of medecine in Egypt in 1928.
Royal Egyptian Geographic Society
In 1875. The Khedive appointed the German botanist, traveller and ethnologist Georg August Schweinfurth as its first president. The Khedive who had interests in geography, created the society to contribute in the discovery of African geography. He was mainly interested in the discovery of source area of the Nile.
In its early days, the Society received research papers from explorers who roamed the farthest reaches of Africa, such as Henry Morton Stanley, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Samuel Baker, and many others. These papers were published in a journal that was published annually by the Society. In addition, some Egyptian officers also participated in the geographical explorations, and sent their results to the Society.
Fuad 1st Desert Institute
The Institute of Foad I for desert research is almost the oldest scientific research center in Egypt. It was created by a decree of the King Farouk of Egypt. It was officially opened on December 30, 1950. The institute had the mission of conducting basic and applied scientific research and studies in various fields related to the exploration, development and management of natural resources in the Egyptian deserts.
After the revolution in 1952 the institute was renamed to become Desert Research Institute (DRI).
Catalogue Reference: Yvert & Tellier #276 to 278
