CHRONOLOGY
A BRIEF SUMMARY
1876
Accession of Abdulhamit II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Abdulhamit proclaims Parliamentary Constitution.
1877
Russia invades Ottoman lands.
Abdulhamit suspends Constitution and dissolves Ottoman Parliament.
1878
Russian victory confirmed by Treaty of San Stephano.
Treaty of Berlin replaces Treaty of San Stephano on July 13 1878 after Congress ends.
1881
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is born in Salonika.
1893
The young Mustafa enters the Military Preparatory School in Salonika and is
given the second name "Kemal" by his teacher.
1895
Mustafa Kemal enters the Military High School at Manastir.
1899
Mustafa Kemal enters the infantry class of the Military Academy in
Istanbul.
1902
Mustafa Kemal graduates from the Military Academy and continues his studies at the
General Staff College.
January 11, 1905
Mustafa Kemal graduates from the General Staff College with the rank of
Staff Captain and is posted to the Fifth Army, based in Damascus.
October 1906
Mustafa Kemal and his friends become active in the little known
"Fatherland and Freedom" society in Damascus.
September 1907
Mustafa Kemal is transferred to the Third Army and travels to Salonika.
September 13, 1911
Mustafa Kemal is transferred to the General Staff in Istanbul.
January 9, 1912
Mustafa Kemal successfully leads the Tobruk offensive in Libya.
November 25, 1912
Mustafa Kemal is appointed Director of Operations (Mediterranean Straits
Special Forces).
October 27, 1913
Mustafa Kemal is appointed Military Attaché in Sofia.
March 18, 1915
Allied navy fails to force the Turkish Straits. Mustafa Kemal demonstrates outstanding skills as a soldier and commander throughout the battle at Canakkale.
April 25, 1915
Allied troops land at Arıburnu (Anzac Cove) along the Dardanelles; Mustafa Kemal plays a major role in stopping their advance.
August 9, 1915
Mustafa Kemal is appointed Commander of the Anafartalar Group on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
April 1, 1916
Mustafa Kemal is promoted Brigadier-General.
August 6-7, 1916
Mustafa Kemal wins Bitlis and Muş back from the enemy.
October 31, 1918
Mustafa Kemal becomes Commander, 'Lightning Group' of Armies.
April 30, 1919
Mustafa Kemal is appointed Inspector of the 9th Army based in Erzurum and is granted extensive powers.
May 16, 1919
Mustafa Kemal leaves Istanbul for Samsun on the Bandırma vessel.
May 19, 1919
Mustafa Kemal lands in Samsun, a city located on the Black Sea.. This date marks the beginning of the Turkish national liberation movement, and is an official holiday dedicated to the youth of Turkey.
July 8, 1919
Mustafa Kemal resigns from his post of Inspector of the 3rd Army, and from the army.
July 23, 1919
Mustafa Kemal is elected Chairman of the Erzurum Congress.
September 4, 1919
Mustafa Kemal is elected Chairman of the Sivas Congress.
December 27, 1919
Mustafa Kemal arrives in Ankara with the Excutive Committee.
April 23, 1920
Mustafa Kemal opens the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara.
May 11, 1920
Mustafa Kemal is condemned to death by the government in Istanbul.
August 5, 1921
Mustafa Kemal is appointed Commander-in-Chief by the Grand National Assembly.
August 23, 1921
The battle of Sakarya, led by Mustafa Kemal, begins.
September 19, 1921
The Grand National Assembly gives Mustafa Kemal the rank of Marshal and
the title Gazi (Victor).
August 26, 1922
Gazi Mustafa Kemal begins to lead the Great Offensive from the hill of
Kocatepe.
August 30, 1922
Gazi Mustafa Kemal Paşa wins the battle of Dumlupınar.
September 10, 1922
Gazi Mustafa Kemal enters Izmir.
November 1, 1922
The Grand National Assembly accepts Gazi Mustafa Kemal's proposal to
abolish the Sultanate.
January 14, 1923
Mustafa Kemal's mother Zübeyde Hanım dies in Izmir.
October 29, 1923
Proclamation of the Turkish Republic. Gazi Mustafa Kemal is elected Turkey's
First President.
August 24, 1924
As part of Turkey's modernization, Gazi Mustafa Kemal wears a hat at Sarayburnu in
Istanbul.
August 9, 1928
As part of Turkey's reform process, Gazi Mustafa Kemal educates the public on the new Turkish alphabet at Sarayburnu.
April 12, 1931
Gazi Mustafa Kemal establishes the Turkish Historical Society.
July 12, 1932
Gazi Mustafa Kemal founds the Turkish Linguistic Society.
June 16, 1934
The Grand National Assembly passes a law granting Gazi Mustafa Kemal the
surname "Atatürk."
November 10, 1938
Ataturk died at five past nine in the morning on November 10 in Dolmabahce Palace. Mourning Turkish citizens came to Istanbul to pay their last respects to Ataturk, until November 19, when the coffin in which his body rested, covered by a Turkish flag, was taken in procession to Sarayburnu. After it was placed onto the battleship Yavuz, it was transported to Izmit and later placed on a specially designated train which travelled at a slow speed throughout the country to enable mourners to pay tribute to their leader. Once the coffin arrived in Ankara on November 20, an official funeral was held on November 21. Dignitaries from many countries attended Ataturk’s state funeral. The coffin was moved in a solemn procession by gun carriage from the Grand National Assembly to the Ethnographic Museum, which had been selected as a temporary resting place until a mausoleum for Atatürk could be constructed.
November 10, 1953
At five past nine on November 10, 1953, Ataturk’s remains were taken from the Ethnographic Museum in a Turkish flag-draped coffin for burial at Anıtkabir.