Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Turkish Historical Society was founded in April 1931 for scientific studies aimed at exploring the roots of the nation in the fields of culture and science in the Republic of Türkiye, and the Turkish Language Association followed in July 1932. On 11 March 1935, Atatürk requested from Minister of Education Zeynel Abidin Özmen the establishment of a Faculty of History and Geography in Ankara.
In her memoirs, Prof. Dr. Afet İnan explained Atatürk’s views on this matter as follows:
“The reason why he first chose the name History–Geography for the faculty was this: Geography and History are in close cooperation. He believed especially that these two branches of knowledge must progress in parallel, and that a history deprived of map guidance and without the explanation of geographical conditions would be of no use at all.
The Turkish Historical Society, in the very year of its establishment, immediately published a historical atlas (by the General Directorate of Mapping), and geographical studies were considered necessary as a foundation for history. For example, it was accepted that the drought phenomenon in Central Asia, the homeland of the Turks, could only be explained through geographical and geological investigations. However, the geography of our own homeland also had to be examined and written by us. In this regard, I recall that while the faculty curricula were being discussed, Atatürk dictated a long note to Prof. Muzaffer Göker (the first dean of the faculty) concerning geography teaching and research. In those ideas, he emphasized that geography should be based less on classroom teaching and more on fieldwork, observations, and studies carried out jointly by teachers and students, and that a Geography of Türkiye, examined according to modern methods, should be written. He even considered establishing a Geography Institution, similar to the History Institution, and at the end of these long notes stated that after the faculty was opened, the necessity of such an organization would become evident according to need. I believe that finding and publishing this note would be a highly interesting historical document.”
In 1935, when the first faculty law draft of Ankara University was submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, its name was only Faculty of History and Geography. However, before the law was enacted, by a new directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the word Language was added, and it became the Faculty of Language, History and Geography.
Source:
-Afet İnan, Atatürk Hakkında Hatıralar ve Belgeler, Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, pp. 309–320, Istanbul, 1968.
-Quoted from: History of the Turkish Geographical Society, Publications of Türk Coğrafya Kurumu No. 7, p. 19, Istanbul, 2012.