Najaf bay Vazirov

Najaf bey Vazirov was born in Shusha.

He studied at a religious school in Shusha, a civil school, a real gymnasium in Baku, and the Forestry Department of the Petrivsky-Razumovsky Academy of Forestry and Natural History in Moscow (1878).

In 1878, he was sent to the Caucasus on assignment. He was appointed a third-class forester in the Tartar district of the Yelizavetpol province. He worked there until 1880. Then, as a second-class forester, he was appointed a forester in the Dilijan district of the Iravan province. He worked there until 1887, when he changed his place of work again to the Yelizavetpol province. Later, he worked as a secretary of the medical department of the Iravan provincial administration, and then as a secretary of the department dealing with disputed cases in Gazakh. In 1895, he moved to Baku. He passed the exam, received a lawyer's license, and worked in the courts. In 1903, he was elected secretary of the Baku Duma. Soon after, he was appointed deputy head of the city education department and, together with his former teacher Hasan bey Zardabi, he closely participated in the opening of new schools and various educational institutions for the enlightenment of the people.

He laid the foundation for the tragedy genre in Azerbaijani literature. He wrote feuilletons under the pseudonym "Darvish" in the newspapers "Hayat", "Irshad", "Taza Hayat", "Achiq Soz" published in Baku, and led drama circles. After the April invasion of Azerbaijan, he worked as a teacher at the Agricultural College in Baku.

In the summer of 1926, he went to Shamakhi - Chukhuryur with students to conduct practical classes and died there of heart failure. He was buried in the Alley of Honor in Baku.