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Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and founder of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President from 1923 until his death in 1938. Ideologically a secularist and progressivist, his policies and theories became known as Kemalism.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born (under the name Ali Rıza oğlu Mustafa) in the early months of 1881, either in the Ahmed Subaşı neighbourhood or at a house (preserved as a museum) in Islahhane Street in the Koca Kasım Pasha neighbourhood in Salonica Ottoman Empire , to Zübeyde Hanım, a housewife, and Ali Rıza Efendi, a militia officer, title-deed clerk an
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and founder of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President from 1923 until his death in 1938. Ideologically a secularist and progressivist, his policies and theories became known as Kemalism.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born (under the name Ali Rıza oğlu Mustafa) in the early months of 1881, either in the Ahmed Subaşı neighbourhood or at a house (preserved as a museum) in Islahhane Street in the Koca Kasım Pasha neighbourhood in Salonica Ottoman Empire , to Zübeyde Hanım, a housewife, and Ali Rıza Efendi, a militia officer, title-deed clerk and lumber trader. Only one of Mustafa's siblings, a sister named Makbule (Atadan) survived childhood; she died in 1956. There are so much theories about his ethnicity. According to some sources his father is of Turkmeni origin & his mother of Yörük / Turkish ancestry. Other sources are claiming that his father was Albanian, Slavic or Jewish.
He was born Mustafa, and his second name Kemal (meaning Perfection or Maturity) was given to him by his mathematics teacher, Captain Üsküplü Mustafa Efendi, "in admiration of his capability and maturity" according to Afet Inan, and , according to Ali Fuat Cebesoy, because his teacher wanted to distinguish his student who had the same name as him, although his biographer Andrew Mango suggests that he may have chosen the name himself as a tribute to the nationalist poet Namık Kemal.
Mustafa Kemal's name is associated with four women: Eleni Karinte, Fikriye Hanım, Dimitrina Kovacheva and Latife Uşaklıgil. On 29 January 1923, Latife and Mustafa were married. During his lifetime, Atatürk adopted thirteen children: a boy and twelve girls. Of these, the most famous is Sabiha Gökçen, Turkey's first female pilot and the world's first female fighter pilot.
During 1937, indications that Atatürk's health was worsening started to appear. In early 1938, while he was on a trip to Yalova, he suffered from a serious illness. He went to Istanbul for treatment, where he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. During his stay in Istanbul, he made an effort to keep up with his regular lifestyle for a while. He died on 10 November 1938, at the age of 57, in the Dolmabahçe Palace, where he spent his last days. The clock in the bedroom where he died is still set to the time of his death, 9:05 in the morning.
Atatürk's funeral called forth both sorrow and pride in Turkey, and 17 countries sent special representatives, while nine contributed armed detachments to the cortège.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is commemorated by many memorials throughout Turkey, such as the Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul, the Atatürk Bridge over the Golden Horn (Haliç), the Atatürk Dam, and Atatürk Stadium. Atatürk statues have been erected in all Turkish cities by Turkish Government, and most towns have their own memorial to him. His face and name are seen and heard everywhere in Turkey; his portrait can be seen in all public buildings, in all schools and classrooms, on all school books, on all Turkish lira banknotes, and in the homes of many Turkish families. At the exact time of his death, on every 10 November, at 09:05 am, most vehicles and people in the country's streets pause for one minute in remembrance.
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