Omar Khayyám

The man known in English as the Persian poet Omar Khayyám (May 18 1048 - December 4 1123, assumed dates) was born in Nishapur (or Naishapur) in Khorasan, Persia (Iran), and named Ghiyath al-Din Abu'l-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nisaburi al-Khayyami (al-Khayyami means "the tentmaker"). His name in Persian is "??? ????".

Miscellaneous

• Omar's life is dramatized in the 1957 film Omar Khayyam starring Cornel Wilde, Debra Page, Raymond Massey, Michael Rennie, and John Derek.
• Appears as major character in the novel Samarcande by Amin Maalouf.
• Most recently, his life was dramatized by the Iranian-American director Kayvan Mashayekh in Keeper: the Legend of Omar Khayaam" playing in independent theaters since June 2005
• A lunar crater Omar Khayyam was named after him in 1970.
• An asteroid 3095 Omarkhayyam was named after him in 1980.