Born: 19 May 1881 · Died: 10 November 1938 · Age: 57
Ottoman army commander who founded the Republic of Turkey in 1923, became its first president and drove sweeping modernising reforms
Did you know?He introduced a new alphabet and encouraged the entire nation to learn it to improve literacy rates.
Quick facts
Date of birth19 May 1881
Date of death10 November 1938
Age at death57
Cause of deathLiver cirrhosis
NationalityTurkish
BirthplaceThessaloniki, Greece
Occupationpolitician, statesperson, writer
Editor's Take:
Atatürk built a new country out of the ruins of an empire. After the Ottoman defeat in the First World War, he led a successful war of independence and founded the Republic of Turkey in 1923. He then pushed through sweeping changes at remarkable speed, separating religion from the state, giving women the vote and adopting Western-style laws, dress and calendar. Many of these reforms were imposed from the top down, and critics note the cost to minorities and political opponents. Even so, he remains a towering national figure, and his portrait still hangs in offices and classrooms across Turkey.
Key Milestones
1915: Defends Gallipoli against the Allies
1919: Lands at Samsun to lead the national movement
1922: Wins the War of Independence
1923: Proclaims the Republic of Turkey
1928: Introduces the Latin-based Turkish alphabet
1934: Women gain the right to vote
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (c. 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and statesman who was the founder of the Republic of Turkey and served as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938.
