One of the most famous and respected philanthropists in Azerbaijan, Russia and throughout the Muslim world was Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev. He was called the “father of the nation”. He was born in 1821 and grew up in a family of shoemakers in Baku. He began learning bricklaying to help provide for his family of 7 sisters after his mother's death. At 18 he is already an entrepreneur and his dedication to work guarantees him rapid professional advancement. He purchased land near the oil-booming town of Bibi-Heybat, which was expected to be rich in oil, by mid-1873 along with two companions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay However all their attempts were in vain, the intention was to discover oil. Tagiyev's companions sold their share to him after a while. It didn't take long and in 1877 oil gushed from one of the wells causing Tagiyev to instantly become one of the richest men. This was just the beginning. In the 1870s-90s he invested money in the most profitable business - oil, which he managed to save. He was one of the first Azerbaijani oil entrepreneurs to establish a basis for the development of non-oil businesses from oil profits. He was the founder of the Baku Merchant Bank and dealt with real estate. His interests covered every sector of Azerbaijan's economy; invested in metallurgy, shipbuilding, energy, cotton, fishing, winemaking, and communications. It had large woods. He was also a great public figure, not just a successful entrepreneur. Baku's Muslim, Russian and Jewish charitable societies elected him honorary president. He was elected to the Baku Duma and was involved in many civic projects, most notably in financing the construction of a horse-drawn tram line and the Baku-Shollar oil pipeline to solve the water crisis. He built the first theater building in Baku, in 1883 known as Tagiyev Theater. It later became the Azerbaijan State Musical Comedy Theater and helped repair it after reactionaries burned it in 1909. In 1911 he covered all expenses for the construction of what would later become the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater 'Azerbaijan. In Baku, Ganja, Shamakhi and Nakhchivan, as well as beyond the borders – in Tiflis, Derbend, Vladikavkaz and other cities Tagiyev sponsored the establishment of educational institutions. He was an honorary supervisor of the Tiflis Muslim School and owner of the Baku Secondary Technical School, the School of Commerce and the Mariinsky Girls' Gymnasium. He organized the construction of a mosque, evening self-education courses for the textile factory employees, a school for their children, a pharmacy, a first aid station and a mill. Altogether these projects cost Tagiyev more than 6 million gold rubles. He sold his oil business interests to the Anglo-Russian Oil Company for 5 million rubles. In two and a half years they earned more than 7.5 million rubles in net profit. It should be said that to diversify the Caucasian economy into other sectors, Tagiyev sold his oil companies. He accumulated shares of the Oleum Company founded on the basis of these enterprises in the amount of 16 million rubles, which allowed him to continue to accumulate capital created in the oil sector. Tagiyev invested significant sums in the textile, food, construction and shipbuilding industries, as well as in fishing, during this period. Subsequently, in 1890, Tagiyev purchased the Caspian Steamship Company, renovated it and created a fleet of 10 steamboats. It provided scholarships to many young Azerbaijanis who were seeking 1938.