10 November. The death of Mustafa Kemâl “Atatürk,” the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and founder of modern-day TurkeyAtatürk died at five past nine in the morning on November 10, 1938, in Dolmabahçe Palace. Mourning Turkish citizens came to İstanbul to pay their last respects to Atatürk, 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 İzmit 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 Atatürk’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.
At five past nine on November 10, 1953, Atatürk’s remains were taken from the Ethnographic Museum in a Turkish flag-draped coffin for burial at Anıtkabir.
About Atatürk
Mustafa Kemâl Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic and its first President, stands as a towering figure of the twentieth Century. Among the great leaders of history, few have achieved so much in so short period, transformed the life of a nation as decisively, and given such profound inspiration to the world at large.
Emerging as a military hero at the Dardanelles in 1915, he became the charismatic leader of the Turkish national liberation struggle in 1919. He blazed across the world scene in the early 1920s as a triumphant commander who crushed the invaders of his country.
Following a series of impressive victories against all odds, he led his nation to full independence. He put an end to the antiquated Ottoman dynasty whose tale had lasted more than six centuries – and created the Republic of Turkey in 1923, establishing a new government truly representative of the nation’s will.
As President for 15 years, until his death in 1938, Mustafa Kemâl Atatürk introduced a broad range of swift and sweeping reforms — in the political, social, legal, economic, and cultural spheres — virtually unparalleled in any other country.
His achievements in Turkey are an enduring monument to Atatürk. Emerging nations admire him as a pioneer of national liberation. The world honors his memory as a foremost peacemaker who upheld the principles of humanism and the vision of a united humanity. Tributes have been offered to him through the decades by such world statesmen as Lloyd George, Churchill, Roosevelt, Nehru, de Gaulle, Adenauer, Bourguiba, Nasser, Kennedy and countless others. A White House statement, issued on the occasion of “The Atatürk Centennial” in 1981, pays homage to him as “a great leader in times of war and peace.” It is fitting that there should be high praise for Atatürk, an extraordinary leader of modern times, who said in 1933: “I look to the world with an open heart full of pure feelings and friendship.”
Sources: Wikipedia, Ataturk.com, Kemal Ataturk: Founder of the modern Turkish Republic