Fahrettin Altay
Fahrettin Altay (12 January 1880 – 25 October 1974) was a Turkish military officer. Turkish tank Altay is named in honor of him. Biography. He was born to Albanian parents Ismail Bey and Hayriye Hanım in Shkodër in Scutari Vilayet (now Albania). When World War I started, he was the 3rd Corps Chief of Staff. He met Mustafa Kemal while serving on the Dardanelles Front. In 1915, he was appointed Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of War and was promoted to the rank of Miralay in the same year. Shortly after serving in the Romanian Front, he was sent  as commander of the Palestinian Front. After the defeat in Palestine, the 12th Corps headquarters was moved to the city of Konya where he served as 12th Corps commander to the end of the war. He was known as the commander of the V. Cavalry Corps that participated in various battles of the Turkish War of Independence. His most valued and priced action was the role of V. Cavalry Corps during the famous Battle of Dumlupınar, where the V Cavalry Corps passed behind the Greek lines at the beginning of the battle. His cavalry cut Greek supply and communication. They  raised havoc among the retreating Greek Corps and also captured General Nikolaos Trikoupis, CO of Greek forces in Anatolia. In Great Smyrna Offensive, V Cavalry Corps was one of the vanguards of the Turkish Army. According to "Altay Spor Tarihi" ("The History of Altay Sports Club"), in 1966 when Fahrettin Altay visited the Altay Sports Club at İzmir, he explained to Erdoğan Tözge how his surname was given. According to Erdoğan Tözge, he presented a gold fountain pen to Fahrettin Altay and asked him how he chose Altay as his surname. Fahrettin Altay replied, "When we visited Izmir with Gazi  Mustafa Kemal Pasha during the years of armistice, the Altay club played football against a mixed team consisting of Royal Navy personnel. We watched the game together. Altay club played very well and when they won against the British, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha was affected, honored, and expressed his appreciation. After a long time had passed and Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha sent me to Tabriz to settle a border dispute with Iran. During my staying at Tabriz, the Surname Law was adopted in the Grand National Assembly, and the Assembly gave the name Atatürk to Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha unanimously . All country congratulated him because of his new surname. I also sent a telegraph and celebrated." Atatürk's response that he received the next day, was: Afterwards, Fahrettin said, "My eyes were full when I received the telegram. Atatürk deemed me worthy of surname Altay for the memory of the football match of Altay that we had watched together and he had been affected." In 1933-35 Altay was chosen by Afghanistan and Iran to demarcate the middle section of their common boundary. He retired from the army in 1945. Between 1946 and 1950 he served as an MP for  the CHP form Burdur. After 1946 he retired from political life and died in Istanbul in 1974.