Robert College
Robert College, also called RC, is an American high school in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the most prestigious, private high school in Turkey. The institution was founded by Cyrus Hamlin, with the financial help of Christopher Rhinelander Robert, in 1863 (during the Ottoman Empire). Robert College is also the first American educational institution founded outside the United States. It was founded as a boys' college for Christian minority of the empire. Later the girls section was opened as American College for Girls. Then the Muslims were allowed to be educated in the schools. Hüseyin Pektaş became the first Muslim boy to graduate from college. In 19th century, many additions were made to college including, middle school and high school.
After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the school continued to educate young people, who later became the leaders of the country. Prime ministers Bülent Ecevit and Tansu Çiller are among the school's graduates.
In 1971, Robert College donated one of its two campuses (Boys' campus or Bebek campus) to the Republic of Turkey. A new, public university was founded on this campus. The other campus (Girls' campus or Arnavutköy campus) has since been serving the society as a coeducational high school.