Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Born in Salonica, he made his name at Gallipoli, led the War of Independence and founded the Turkish Republic with Ankara as capital, introducing secular reforms.
| Lived | 1881 – 1938 |
| Known as | Founder of the Republic of Turkey |
| Birthplace or main place | Thessaloniki |
| Places on the map | Thessaloniki, Ankara, Istanbul |
ThessalonikiSee the world of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the interactive map
Who ruled these places in his lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 1880) | At death (map of 1938) |
|---|---|---|
| Thessaloniki | Greece | same |
| Ankara | Ottoman Empire | Turkey |
| Istanbul | Ottoman Empire | Turkey |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in his lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Greece takes the city | Thessaloniki |
| 1923 | Becomes capital of the Republic of Turkey | Ankara |
| 1923 | The Turkish Republic moves its capital to Ankara | Istanbul |
Battles and sites of the time
- Sarajevo · 1914
- Battle of Tannenberg · 1914
- Gallipoli Campaign · 1915
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 1856 – 1939 | Sigmund Freud | Founder of psychoanalysis |
| 1861 – 1941 | Rabindranath Tagore | Poet |
| 1869 – 1948 | Mahatma Gandhi | Leader of Indian independence |
| 1874 – 1965 | Winston Churchill | British prime minister |
| 1876 – 1948 | Muhammad Ali Jinnah | Founder of Pakistan |
| 1878 – 1953 | Joseph Stalin | Soviet leader |
| 1879 – 1955 | Albert Einstein | Physicist |
| 1867 – 1934 | Marie Curie | Physicist and chemist |
| 1889 – 1964 | Jawaharlal Nehru | First prime minister of India |
| 1890 – 1970 | Charles de Gaulle | President of France |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.