Tekirdag has been home to statesmen who left a deep mark on Turkish history from the Ottoman period to the present day, as well as important historical leaders exiled from Europe. Furthermore, the city is the birthplace of many valuable figures who shaped the world of literature and art during the Republican era.

Before 1876, there were 142 Turkish villages and 45 Greek villages in Tekirdag province. Today, hundreds of village and farm names in Tekirdag province bear the names of old Yoruk tribes, clans, and settlements. Since many Turks from all corners of Anatolia came and settled in the lands of Tekirdag province during the founding period of the Ottoman Empire, many of the current village and farm names belong to the Oghuz Turks, their main branches such as the Avshars and Beydilis, the Danishmendids, the Dulkadirids, the Bozoks, the Karamanids, the Saruhanids, the Aydin and Karesi Ogullari, and the Syrian and Iranian Yoruks.

Mustafa Kemal was serving as Military Attaché in Sofia during the First World War, which began on July 28, 1914. On August 2nd, an agreement was signed between the Ottoman Empire and Germany, and on October 29, 1914, the Ottoman Empire officially joined World War I alongside its allies, Germany and Austria. Following this entry into World War I, Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal, who was in Sofia, received a telegram from the acting Minister of War. The telegram stated, "You have been appointed commander of the 19th Division; leave for Istanbul immediately." Mustafa Kemal arrived in Istanbul and met with Enver Pasha, the acting commander-in-chief who had recently returned from the Sarıkamış operation. He inquired about which corps and army the 19th Division belonged to. The answer he received was to consult with the General Staff. Upon arriving at the General Staff, Mustafa Kemal found no one aware of the existence of such a division. After that, Liman met with Fon Sanders and learned that the party was still in its formative stages in Tekirdağ, so he travelled to Tekirdağ.