19 May: Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day

What happened?

The decree appointing Mustafa Kemal Pasha Inspector of the 9th Army was published in the official gazette on 30 April 1919². On paper his task was to keep order and oversee the collection of arms; according to Çaykıran, his real aim was to unite the commands in Anatolia around the country's defence and bring the local resistance societies under one centre¹.

He left Istanbul on 16 May 1919¹. From Galata quay a launch took him to the steamer Bandırma off the Maiden's Tower (Kız Kulesi); British sailors boarded, checked the papers and let it go on². Landing at Samsun on the morning of 19 May, he telegraphed the Sultan, the Grand Vizier, the ministries and the General Staff that he had taken up his post².

He moved his headquarters to Havza on 25 May and issued the Havza Circular on 28 May¹. The Amasya Circular of 22 June 1919, issued with Ali Fuat Pasha (Cebesoy) and Rauf Bey (Orbay), declared that the nation's independence would be saved by the nation's own will¹. When Istanbul ended his post on 8 July he resigned from the army; he was elected head of the Representative Committee at the Erzurum Congress (23 July–7 August) and convened the Sivas Congress on 4–11 September¹.

Why it matters

Atatürk opens his Nutuk with his landing at Samsun on 19 May 1919^1,3. According to Uzun, he did not object to the date being marked as his birthday: MP Reşit Saffet Atabinen telegraphed him "Happy birthday" on 19 May 1932³. That year, asked by the Aydın People's House, he said he did not know his birth date and asked that the Samsun day be used; in 1937 he had 19 May given to the British Embassy³.

Samsun marked 19 May locally as "Gazi Day" from 1926³. Following a proposal by the Güneş Club, it was celebrated nationwide for the first time in 1935, mostly as "Atatürk Day"; in 1936 the Turkish Sports Institution proposed a "Sports and Youth Day"³. Law No. 3466 of 20 June 1938 made it an official holiday as "Youth and Sports Day"; Atatürk attended only the 1938 celebrations³.

Law No. 2429 of 1981 named it "Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day"⁴. Its best-known text is the Address to the Youth (Gençliğe Hitabe), read by Atatürk at the end of the Nutuk on 20 October 1927; on 26 October the Ministry of Education decided to hang it in every classroom⁵.

Gelibolu's link

Behind Mustafa Kemal's standing in 1919 lay his command on the Gelibolu (Gallipoli) peninsula in 1915. Success at Arıburnu on 25 April brought promotion; on 8 August he became commander of the Anafartalar Group, and on 10 August he led the attack at Conkbayırı from the front line⁶. He became known as the "Hero of Anafartalar" and was greeted with that title in Istanbul on 13 November 1918⁶.

When the Samsun journey began, Gelibolu was occupied; British troops had entered the town on 30 November 1918⁷. Sixteen telegrams from the Sanjak of Gelibolu protested the occupation of İzmir⁷. On 19 May 1919, the very day of the Samsun landing, mayor Mehmed Emin Bey telegraphed the Grand Vizier's office that the people of Gelibolu were determined to defend their rights⁷. Gelibolu came under the Ankara assembly's rule on 26 November 1922⁷.

Our note: on the day a new era began at Samsun, the mayor of occupied Gelibolu was also trying to make the town heard. That coincidence gives 19 May a special meaning here.

How it is celebrated

In Gelibolu the day opens with a wreath laid by the district director of youth and sports at the Atatürk Monument in front of the 2nd Corps Command, followed by a moment of silence and the national anthem^10,11. In 2025 the ceremony began at 10:00; a procession walked to the Atatürk Cultural Centre, and the programme ended with Muay Thai and archery displays, folk dances and prizes¹⁰.

In 2024 pupils and athletes joined a youth walk from the indoor sports hall to the Atatürk Cultural Centre¹¹. In 2026 the procession went from the Gazi Süleyman Paşa statue to the district youth and sports grounds, with a karate display and folk dances⁸.

In the evening the municipality holds a lantern parade: in 2026 people walked with flags and torches from the Gazi Süleyman Paşa statue to İskele Meydanı, followed by a concert⁹. Sports events lead up to the day; in 2025 the provincial archery championship for 19 May ran for two days at the Gelibolu 26 Kasım Archery Range¹².

Good to know

• 19 May is a one-day public holiday; government offices are closed⁴.
• The evening lantern parade is in the town centre; in 2026 it ended at İskele Meydanı⁹.
• In its early years the day had several names, such as "Atatürk Day", "Training Day" and "19 May Festivities"³.
• From Samsun, Mustafa Kemal Pasha reached Ankara on 27 December 1919, a journey of about 2,819 km by today's roads¹.