Prof. Dr. Afet İnan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Ayşe Afet 30 October 1908 |
| Died | 8 June 1985(1985-06-08) (aged 76) |
| Education | History,sociology |
| Alma mater | University of Geneva,Switzerland |
| Occupation | Academic |
| Organization | University of Ankara |
| Known for | Adopted daughter ofMustafa Kemal Atatürk |
| Spouse | Ahmet Rifat İnan |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | İsmail Hakkı Uzmay [tr] (father) Şehzane (mother) Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (adopted father) |
Ayşe Afet İnan (30 October 1908 – 8 June 1985) was aTurkishhistorian andsociologist. She was one of the eight adopted daughters ofMustafa Kemal Atatürk. She was known to be involved in the practice ofphysical anthropology, as she measured over sixty thousand skulls inAnatolia, which was aimed to support theTurkish History Thesis.[1][2]
Afet İnan was born to İsmail HakkıBey (İsmail Hakkı Uzmay) and ŞehzaneHanım from Doyran (present dayDojran),[3][4] in 1908 in the district of Kesendire (Polyoroz, present dayKassandra, Greece) inSalonica Vilayet.[5]
She and her family emigrated toAdapazarı because of theBalkan Wars. She started primary school in Adapazarı on March 4, 1913. They then moved toAnkara,Mihalıççık,Karaoğlan, andBiga. Her mother Şehzane died oftuberculosis on May 15, 1915. Since her father then married a young girl, Ayşe Afet decided to become a teacher to earn her own living.[6] When they lived in Biga, her younger sister Nezihe was born to her father Ismail Hakki and his second wife. In 1920, she finished her six years of primary education. In 1921, they settled to Alanya. In 1922, she got a teaching qualification inElmalı and was assigned as headteacher to Elmalı Girls' School. She graduated from theBursa Teachers College for Girls in 1925, and started to work as a primary school teacher inİzmir. She met Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in October of the same year during his visit to İzmir.
Afet was sent in 1925 by Atatürk toLausanne,Switzerland, to learnFrench. After returning to Turkey in 1927, she attended the FrenchLycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul. On finishing there she was appointed as a secondary school teacher for history. In 1935, Afet İnan went to Switzerland again and was a student ofEugène Pittard at theUniversity of Geneva between 1936 and 1938. In 1939, after graduating, she obtained aPhD in sociology. In 1950, she became a professor at theUniversity of Ankara.
She was the co-founder and a leading member of theTurkish Historical Society.
İnan died on 8 June 1985, inAnkara, leaving behind her daughter Arı and her son Demir.
The "Afet İnan Historical Studies Award" is given biennially by the Turkish History Foundation in cooperation with İnan's family.
