One of the most famous and respected philanthropists in Azerbaijan, Russia and the entire Muslim world was Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev. He was nicknamed the “Father of the Nation”. He was born in 1821 and grew up in a family of shoemakers in Baku. He began learning masonry to support his family of 7 sisters after the death of his mother. At 18, he was already an entrepreneur and his dedication to work ensured him rapid professional development. He and two companions purchased land near the oil town of Bibi-Heybat, which was supposedly oil-rich, in mid-1873. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the 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 oil gushed from one of the wells in 1877, making Tagiyev one of the richest men. It was just the beginning. He invested this money in the most profitable business of the 1870s-90s – oil, which he managed to save. He was one of the first Azerbaijani oil entrepreneurs to establish the basis for the development of non-oil businesses from oil profits. He was the founder of the Baku Merchant Bank and dealt in real estate. His interests covered all sectors of the Azerbaijani economy; he invested in metallurgy, shipbuilding, energy, cotton, fishing, winemaking and communications, and owned large forests. He was also a major public figure, not just a successful entrepreneur. The Muslim, Russian and Jewish charitable societies of Baku elected him honorary president. He was elected to the Baku Duma and participated in many civic projects, including financing the construction of a horse-drawn tram and the Baku-Shollar water pipeline to resolve the water crisis. He built the first theater building in Baku, in 1883, known as the Tagiyev Theater. It later became the Azerbaijan National Musical Comedy Theater and helped repair it after reactionaries burned it down in 1909. In 1911, it covered all expenses for the construction of what would become more later the Azerbaijan Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. In Baku, Ganja, Shamakhi and Nakhichevan, as well as across the borders – in Tiflis, Derbend, Vladikavkaz and other cities, Tagiyev sponsored the creation of educational institutions. He was an honorary director of the Muslim school in Tiflis and the owner of the Baku secondary technical school, the business school and the Mariinsky women's gymnasium. He built a mosque and evening self-education classes for the textile factory employees, a school for their children, a pharmacy, a first aid station and a mill. In total, these projects cost Tagiyev more than 6 million golden rubles. He sold his stake in the oil sector to the Anglo-Russian Oil Company for 5 million rubles. In two and a half years, they made a net profit of more than 7.5 million rubles. It is worth mentioning that to diversify into other sectors of the Caucasus economy, Tagiyev sold his oil companies. He accumulated shares in the Oleum company created on the basis of these companies in the amount of 16 million rubles, which allowed him to continue accumulating the capital created in the oil sector. Tagiyev invested significant sums in the textile, food, construction and shipbuilding industries, as well as fishing, during this period. More 1938.