Hassan Kamel Al Sabbah was a Lebanese inventor who made significant scientific contributions in the fields of electrical engineering, solar energy, and space technology. He was such a prolific inventor that people called him “Thomas Edison of the East”. He grew up in the Lebanese town of Nabatie. After completing his graduate degree in the United State of America he worked with General Electric where his research produced more than 40 technology patents. He worked with the company until the end of his unfortunately short life. In this episode, Leen tells us his story and describes her experience attending a commemorative event in his honor in his hometown.
Lebanese Arabic Transcript and English Contextual Translation
1
مرحبا وأهلا وسهلا فيكن بحلقة جديدة من لانغويج وايف. أنا لين، واليوم رح نتعرف على مخترع لبناني ساهم بتغيير وتسهيل الحياة على الكرة الأرضية. رح نحكي اليوم عن “أديسون الشرق”. أية لبناني بيسمع بهاللقب، دغري بيعرف إنو عم نحكي عن المخترع اللبناني حسن كامل الصباح. مين هو حسن كامل الصباح، حياتو، إنجازاتو، وليش أعطوه هاللقب، وكيف عم بتم تكريمو بعد مَوتو، كل هيدي مواضيع رح نحكي عنا بهالحلقة.
Hello, and welcome to a new episode on Language Wave. I am Leen, and today we will get to know a Lebanese inventor that contributed to changing and facilitating life on earth. We will be talking about “Edison Al Sharq (Edison of the east)”. Any Lebanese that hears this nickname immediately knows that we are talking about the Lebanese inventor Hassan Kamel Al Sabbah. Who is Hassan Kamel Al Sabbah? His life, his achievements, why was he given this nickname, and how is he being honored after his death? All of the above are topics which we will talk about in this episode.
2
مخترعنا اليوم حسن كامل الصباح، من مدينة النبطية بجنوب لبنان. خلق حسن كامل الصباح سنة 1894 من بي و إم لبنانية. سنة 1901، سجّل حسن بالمدرسة الابتدائية الرسمية. وبلّش ذكاه يبيّن بعمر 7 سنين. فبتخبر إمو لحسن عن أول تجربة لإلو هو وصغير وكيف جرّب يعمل بالون من ورق، يعبيه غاز، ويطيرو. سنة 1908، نزل حسن كامل الصباح على بيروت، وكمل دراستو المتوسطة. وظهر تفوقو بالرياضيات والهندسة.
Our inventor today is Hasan Kamel Al Sabbah from Nabatieh city in South Lebanon. Hasan Kamel Al Sabbah was born in 1894 to a Lebanese mother and father. In 1901, Hassan enrolled in the public elementary school. His intelligence started to appear at an age of 7 years old. His mother tells about his first experiment as a child, and how he tried making a paper balloon, filling it with gas, and flying it. In 1908, Hassan Kamel Al Sabbah moved to Beirut and resumed his intermediate studies. His excellence in mathematics and engineering emerged.