Mehmed VI or Mehmed Vahdeddin was the 36th and last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and 115th caliph. He was born on 14th of January 1861 in Istanbul, capital of the Empire back then. He was raised at Dolmabahce palace and interested in literature, calligraphy, and music; he wrote many song lyrics.
Vahdeddin ascended to the throne on 4th of July 1918 after the death of his brother Mehmed V Resad, as the eldest male member of the House at the age of 57. His reign began with many problems; at the conclusion of World War I the Ottoman Empire was defeated and signed the Armistice of Mondros, which resulted the occupation of Istanbul and many other parts of the empire by the Allied Powers. A nationalist resistance led by Mustafa Kemal annoyed the Allies so they pressured the sultan to dissolve the nationalist dominated Chamber of Deputies in Istanbul. Mustafa Kemal responded with establishing a provisional government known as the Grand National Assembly (TBMM) based in Ankara, and continued with the Turkish War of Independence. Sultan Vahdeddin signed the Treaty of Sévres with the Allies, a harsh peace treaty for the Empire. After Ankara's victory in the independence war, the Sévres Treaty was abandoned and the new government signed the Treaty of Lausanne.
On 1st of November 1922 the Ottoman sultanate was abolished by Parliament. Vahdeddin left the palace with his family for the exile; first sailing to Malta with the British warship HMS Malaya, then to Mecca, and then to San Remo town in Italy where he died on 16th of May 1926. His body was taken to Damascus where he's buried.