Milan Rastislav Štefánik
| Milan Rastislav Štefánik | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 1st Minister of War of Czechoslovakia | |
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In office October 28, 1918 – May 4, 1919 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 21, 1880 Košariská, Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia) |
| Died | May 4, 1919 (aged 38) Ivanka pri Dunaji, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) |
| Resting place | Brezová pod Bradlom, Slovakia |
| Occupation | Military, Astronomer, Mathematician, Pilot, Meteorologist |
| Religion | Lutheran |
| Awards | Légion d'honneur |
Milan Rastislav Štefánik (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmilan ˈrascislaw ˈʃcefaːɲik]; July 21, 1880 – May 4, 1919) was a Slovak politician, diplomat, and astronomer. During World War I, he served as a General in the French Army and, at the same time, as the Minister of War for Czechoslovakia. As one of the leading members of the Czechoslovak National Council (i.e. resistance government), he contributed decisively to the cause of Czechoslovak sovereignty, since the status of Czech- and Slovak-populated territories, among others, was in question until shortly before the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918.
Štefánik's personal motto was: "To Believe, To Love, and To Work" (Veriť, milovať, pracovať).
Štefánik was born in Košariská, Austria-Hungary (now Slovakia), on July 21, 1880. He had 12 brothers and sisters, two of whom died at a young age. His father, Pavol Štefánik, was a local Lutheran pastor, and his mother's name was Albertína Jurenková. He attended his schools in Bratislava, Sopron and Szarvas.
In 1898, he began studying construction engineering in Prague. In 1900, he transferred his studies to Charles University, where he attended lectures in astronomy, physics, optics, mathematics, and philosophy. For the 1902 summer semester, he was at university in Zürich. The Prague years had a great impact on Štefánik because he met many important personalities there. The philosophy lectures were given by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (the future first president of Czechoslovakia), who inspired Štefánik with the idea of cooperation between the Czechs and the Slovaks. Furthermore, Štefánik very actively participated in the work of the Slovak student association Detvan (and within Detvan, the so-called Hlasists group), where he became acquainted with Vavro Šrobár. His studies were largely financed by Czech associations including Českoslovanská jednota (Czechoslavic Unity) and Radhošť, since he himself could not afford them. In Prague, he wrote political and artistic texts in which he tried to inform the Czechs of the disastrous situation of the Slovaks at that time. He graduated in 1904 with a doctorate in philosophy, and with thorough knowledge of astronomy (he finished his studies with a thesis in astronomy). He wrote his thesis about a star which was discovered in the Cassiopeia constellation in 1572.
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