Vjekoslav Klaić (21 June 1849 – 1 July 1928) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

, most famous for his monumental work ''History of the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic ...

''. Klaić was born in

Garčin Garčin is a village and a municipality in Brod-Posavina County, Croatia. The total population is 4,806, distributed in the following settlements: * Bicko Selo, population 517 * Garčin, population 911 * Klokočevik, population 607 * Sapci, p ...

near Slavonski Brod as the son of a teacher. He was raised in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

spirit and language, since his mother was German. Klaić went to school in

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

and

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. Literature and music were more to his liking in the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

than history; some of his musical works were performed. He studied history and geography in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. After completing his studies, he taught for more than fifty years, first as a high school teacher, and after 1893 as a professor of general history at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

, where he stayed with short breaks until 1922, when he retired. He died in

. In 1896 he became a regular member of the

Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

, and was an honourable doctor of the University of Prague and an external member of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Klaić wrote for the weekly ''Hrvatska lipa'' of the

Croatian Party of Rights The Croatian Party of Rights ( hr, Hrvatska stranka prava or HSP) is an extra-parliamentary nationalist political party in Croatia. The "right(s)" in the party's name refer to the legal and moral reasons that justify the independence and autonomy ...

and was the editor of ''

Vienac ''Vijenac'' (English: '' The Wreath'') is a biweekly magazine for literature, art and science, established in December 1993 and published by ''Matica hrvatska'', the central national cultural institution in Croatia. Historical background The ...

'' for several years (1882–1889), founded an orchestra and conducted it, promoting Croatian music. In 1892 he started and edited the musical magazine ''

Gusle The gusle ( sr-cyrl, гусле) or lahuta ( sq, lahutë) is a single- stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanied by ...

''. He wrote short stories and political articles in the Croatian spirit. Among his historical works, the special place belongs to the monumental history ''Povijest Hrvata'' (History of the

), published by Kugli in five books (1899–1911). Klaić did not finish it. In a text about this book, another famous Croatian historian,

Ferdo Šišić Ferdo Šišić (9 March 1869 – 21 January 1940) was a Croatian historian, the founding figure of the Croatian historiography of the 20th century. He made his most important contributions in the area of the Croatian early Middle Ages. Life Ši� ...

, pointed out (1914): "Materials, scientific method and details of Klaić's work surpass all the existing works of this kind in our

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians h ...

", while Jaroslav Šidak said that "Klaić's book, despite all of its shortcomings, has still not been surpassed regarding the wealth of information in its presentation of the 15th and 16th centuries". His granddaughter

Nada Klaić Nada Klaić (21 July 1920 – 2 August 1988) was a Croatian historian. She was a Croatian medievalist of the 20th century. A substantial part of the work was devoted to criticism of medieval sources. Academic career Nada Klaić was born in Zagre ...

was also a prominent historian.

Selected works

*''Prirodni zemljopis Hrvatske'' (''Natural Geography of Croatia'', 1878) *''Poviest Bosne do propasti kraljevstva'' (''History of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

'', 1882) *''Pripoviesti iz hrvatske poviesti'' (''Tales from Croatian History'', 1886–1891) *''Bribirski knezovi od plemena Šubić do god. 1347.'' (''Dukes of Bribir'', 1897) *''Povijest Hrvata od najstarijih vremena do svršetka XIX. stoljeća'' (''History of the

'', 1899–1922) *''Krčki knezovi Frankapani'' (''The

Frankopan The House of Frankopan ( hr, Frankopani, Frankapani, it, Frangipani, hu, Frangepán, la, Frangepanus, Francopanus), was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croat ...

Dukes of Krk'', 1901) *''Život i djela Pavla Rittera Vitezovića'' (''The Life and Work of

Pavao Ritter Vitezović Pavao Ritter Vitezović (; 7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a Habsburg-Croatian polymath, variously described as a historian, linguist, publisher, poet, political theorist, diplomat, printmaker, draughtsman, cartographer, writer and print ...

'', 1914)

References

External links

Vjekoslav Klaić
at the

website
Vjekoslav Klaić biography
at ''Hrvatski biografski leksikon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Klaic, Vjekoslav 1849 births 1928 deaths 20th-century Croatian historians 19th-century Croatian historians Croatian people of German descent Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Rectors of the University of Zagreb Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Yugoslav historians Croatian medievalists