Mehmet Âkif Ersoy was born on December 20, 1873, in the Sarıgüzel neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul.
His mother, Emine Şerif Hanım, was the daughter of a family that had migrated from Bukhara to Anatolia; his father, Mehmet Tahir Efendi, was born in Kosovo and was one of the madrasa teachers of Fatih Mosque. His father gave him the name "Ragîf," which expressed his date of birth according to the abjad numeral system. However, as it was difficult to pronounce, his friends and mother called him "Âkif" instead, a name he gradually adopted. He began his primary education at the Emir Buhari Neighborhood School in Fatih. Two years later, he moved on to the iptidai (primary school) division and began learning Arabic from his father. He started his secondary education at Fatih Merkez Rüştiyesi (1882). At the same time, he attended Persian lessons at Fatih Mosque. Throughout his education at the rüştiye, Mehmet Âkif always ranked first in Turkish, Arabic, Persian, and French.
After completing the rüştiye, he enrolled in 1885 at Mülkiye İdadisi, one of the most sought-after schools of the period. In 1888, while attending the school's advanced section, he lost his father. The following year, the great Fatih fire destroyed their house, plunging the family into poverty. His father's student, Mustafa Sıtkı, built a small house on the same plot of land and settled the family there. Since Mehmet Âkif primarily wanted to acquire a profession and study at a boarding school, he left Mülkiye İdadisi. During those years, he enrolled at the newly opened Ziraat ve Baytar Mektebi (School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine), the first civilian veterinary college. During his school years he showed great interest in sports, taking part in wrestling and swimming as well as long-distance walking, running, and shot put competitions; his interest in poetry grew during the school's last two years. He graduated first in his class from the veterinary department of the school in 1893. He would later teach Turkish at this same school. His poems and writings would go on to be published in Resimli Gazete and Servet-i Fûnun magazine.
Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University now serves at this very location where Mehmet Âkif both studied and taught. The dining hall once used by Mehmet Âkif and his friends is today used as the Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University Mehmet Âkif Ersoy Foyer Hall, adorned above and around its inner door with the complete stanzas of the İstiklâl Marşı (National Anthem) and a large portrait of Âkif.
Deeply influenced by the Second Constitutional Era, Âkif became the lead writer of Sırat-ı Müstakim magazine, published by his friends EŞref Edip and Ebül'ula Mardin, whose first issue appeared on August 27, 1908. During the Balkan War, the Battles of Çanakkale, and the War of Independence, he held various duties, traveling to Balıkesir where, on February 6, 1920, he delivered a highly stirring sermon at Zağnos Paşa Mosque. In the face of the public's unexpected interest, he went on to deliver sermons and speeches in many more places before returning to Istanbul.
Having settled at the Taceddin Dergâhı in Ankara in 1921, Mehmet Âkif initially did not participate in the İstiklâl Marşı (National Anthem) competition, which offered a prize of 500 lira. He was persuaded following a request from the Minister of National Education, Hamdullah Suphi Bey, and the encouragement of his friend Hasan Basri Bey. His anthem, which he dedicated to the army, was published in Sırat-ı Müstakim and Hâkimiyet-i Milliye on February 17. After being read aloud in Parliament by Hamdullah Suphi Bey and listened to standing, it was adopted as the National Anthem on Saturday, March 12, 1921, at 17:45. Âkif donated the 500 lira prize to a charitable institution.
Our National Poet Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, who lived in Egypt for a long time after the War of Independence and its victory, returned to Istanbul for treatment on June 17, 1936. He passed away on December 27, 1936, in the Mısır Apartmanı in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, and rests at the Edirnekapı Martyrs' Cemetery. His two most important works are the İstiklâl Marşı (National Anthem) and Safahat, a seven-volume collection of his poems.