ATATÜRK was born in 1881 in Salonika or Thessalonike (Click here to see the house which is now a museum) (then in Ottoman Empire, now in Greece). His name was Mustafa. His father, Ali Rıza Efendi, was a customs official, and, his mother, Zübeyde Hanım, was a housewife.

He completed his elementary school education in Salonika but since he lost his father in his early age, he had to leave the school and go to live with his uncle in the country. Worrying about her son's education, mother decided to send Mustafa to her sister's place in Salonica again to continue his education. Having completed the military secondary school in 1895 in Manastır, he was enrolled in Military High School at the same place. Then starting from 1899 on, he studied in Military Academy in Istanbul until Jan 11, 1905 when he was graduated as a Staff Captain.

During his education at his young age, he was so advanced in his classes that his teacher, who had the same name - Mustafa, gave him another additional name as "Kemal" which means "Mature"; and, from that time on he was called as "Mustafa Kemal" until he was given his well-known name "ATATÜRK" (=Father of Turks) by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

Here is the house where Atatürk was born at in 1881. The house, in Salonika, Greece, now is a museum where his original households and personal belongings are displayed.
Years later, Mustafa Kemal explained his condition as follows:

"The first thing I remember about my childhood is the event of going to school. Because of this, there was a severe struggle between my mother and father. My mother wanted me to start the school with religious ceremonies and attend to the district school. My father wanted me to attend Şemsi Efendi's school, which was newly inaugurated, and educated according to the new system. Finally, my father solved the problem with a skill. First, I attended the district school with religious ceremony; this way my mother was satisfied. Few days later, I quitted the district school and was enrolled to Şemsi Efendi's school. A little later my father died."