Sadettin Dilbilgen was a philatelist who was born in Ottoman Macedonia. He was the childhood friend of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Sadettin Dilbilgen
Pencil portrait of Sadettin Dilbilgen by Şinasi Revi
NationalityTurkish
OccupationPhilatelist

Life

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Sadettin Dilbilgen was son of the owner of a large farm in Ottoman Macedonia, near Marko's Monastery in the village of Markova Sušica. He was a childhood friend of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He caught polio as a child, and lost some of the function of one hand and foot. Because of this, he was educated privately.[1] At a young age he moved to France, where he was educated and stayed for 16 years.[citation needed]

Dilbilgen's family lost their farm and all their assets after the Balkan War, and migrated to İzmir, where he worked as a civil servant. In 1923 he visited Ankara and met his childhood friend Atatürk, who was interested and concerned about him.[1] He became well known as a philatelist. He was one of the few collectors with whom Queen Elizabeth II of England exchanged stamps.[1]

References

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Sources

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  • Bahadır Akkoyun, Rumeli̇ ve Balkan Kökenli̇ Taninmiş Mübadi̇l, Muhaci̇r ve Göçmenler / Sadettin Dilbilgen (in Turkish), retrieved 2024-10-20