Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

1881 – 10 November 1938

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who founded the Republic of Turkey and served as its first president. He led the Turkish War of Independence and enacted sweeping political, legal, and cultural reforms that transformed the former Ottoman lands into a modern secular nation-state.

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Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Life events

Born in Salonica
1881

Born in Salonica in the Ottoman Empire (present-day Thessaloniki, Greece).

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Graduated from the Ottoman Military College
1905

Completed his training at the Ottoman Military Academy in Constantinople, becoming a staff officer.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Commander at the Battle of Gallipoli
1915 – 1916

Won distinction defending the Gallipoli peninsula against Allied forces during the First World War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Led the Turkish War of Independence
19 May 1919 – 1923

Organized the nationalist resistance movement that opposed the partition of Anatolia after the First World War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Founded the Republic of Turkey and became its first president
29 October 1923

Proclaimed the Republic of Turkey and was elected its first president.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Enacted secular and modernizing reforms
1924 – 1934

Introduced a new legal code, the Latin alphabet, and reforms secularizing the state and expanding women's rights.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Granted the surname Atatürk
24 November 1934

The Turkish Grand National Assembly bestowed on him the surname Atatürk, meaning 'Father of the Turks'.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Death in Istanbul
10 November 1938

Died at the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul from cirrhosis of the liver.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓