Mehmed Esad Saffet Pasha: Ahmed Midhat was a close friend of Saffet Pasha, a Minister of Education during the rule of Abdul Hamid II. Upon orders from the Sultan, Saffet Pasha appointed Hasan Tahsini as the rector of Istanbul University, who was another evolutionist. He was one of the people who completely changed the Ottoman educational system and supposedly brought European standards to education (to put it more accurately, he incorporated Darwinism into the education system). He was one of the founders of Galatasaray High School, one of the centers of Darwinist education at the time. Sedat Simavi, the founder of the Hürriyetnewspaper, is Saffet Pasha's grandson. Saffet Pasha was also one of the plotters of the coup against Sultan Abdülaziz in 1876.
Ahmed Rıza:Supported the 'world citizen' view of positivism. Due to his anglophile character and emulation of English style in the way he dressed, he was also known as the English Ahmed Rıza.
Salih Zeki: Defended the materialist views of Auguste Comte in Robert College, Darüşşafaka and Darülfünûn, where he lectured.
Rıza Tevfik: Considered Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin as his teachers and promoted Darwinism in his articles.
