About Namık Kemal
Namık Kemal (Ottoman Turkish: نامق كمال, romanized: Nâmıḳ Kemâl, pronounced [ˈnaː.mɯk ce.ˈmal]; Turkish: Namık Kemal; 21 December 1840 – 2 December 1888) was an Ottoman writer, poet, democrat, intellectual, reformer, journalist, playwright, and political activist who was influential in the formation of the Young Ottomans and their struggle for governmental reform in the Ottoman Empire during the late Tanzimat period, which led to the First Constitutional Era in the Empire in 1876. Kemal championed notions of freedom and fatherland in his plays and poems, and his works had a significant impact on the establishment of and future reform movements in Turkey, as well as other former Ottoman territories. He is often regarded as being instrumental in redefining Western concepts like natural rights and constitutional government. == Early years == An Ottoman subject, Namık Kemal was born in Tekirdağ (present-day Turkey, then part of the Ottoman Empire) on 21 December 1840, to mother Fatma Zehra Hanım and father Mustafa Asım Bey, the chief astrologer in the Sultan's Palace. Kemal's father was of Turkish descent, his family originally being from Yenişehir in Bursa Province. Since surnames or family names were not in use during the Ottoman Empire, "Kemal" was not his surname, but part of his first name. During his youth, Kemal traveled throughout the Ottoman Empire, staying in Istanbul, Kars, and Sofia, and studied a number of subjects, including poetry. In 1857, at the age of 17, Kemal worked in the Translation Office (Turkish: Tercüme Odası) of the Ottoman Government. However, as a result of the political nature of his writings, Kemal was forced to leave this job by Grand Vizier Emin Âli Pasha and so joined his friend and fellow Young Ottoman, İbrahim Şinasi, at his newspaper Tasvîr-i Efkâr (Herald of Ideas). Kemal worked as the editor of Tasvîr-i Efkâr until his exile and flight to Paris in 1867.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.