Golub S. Janić ( Mavrovo 1853 –

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

1918) was a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

millionaire, MP, benefactor, and the most influential personality among the Macedonian Serbs living in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

at the beginning of the 20th century.

Life

Janić was born in 1853 in Mavrovo to father Samuilo and mother Sofija (née Pejić). His grandfather Jane had previously gone to

and started trading. His father Samuilo (1830–1889) was also a tradesman in the Serbian capital. Golub Janić finished primary school and high school in Belgrade. He volunteered and took part in Serbo–Turkish War of 1876–78. After finishing his schooling, he was gradually introduced to his father's business. Samuilo Janić was a respected merchant and a rentier who owned many houses and parcels in Belgrade, most important of which was (the old) Hotel Balkan in

Terazije Terazije ( sr-Cyrl, Теразијe) is the central town square and the surrounding neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Stari Grad, Belgrade, Stari Grad. Today, Terazije has primarily function of the main trans ...

. Janić married Bosiljka (née Cincar-Janković) from notable Belgrade family, descended from

vojvode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

hospodar ''Gospodar'' or ''hospodar'', also ''gospodin'' as a diminutive, is a term of Slavic origin, meaning "lord" or " master". The compound (, , , sh-Latn-Cyrl, gospodar, господар, ) is a derivative of ''gospod'' / ''gospodin'', , or when spe ...

Janko Popović, called Cincar Janko.

National work

After his father's death in 1889, Golub Janić becomes dedicated to politics, above all on financing and coordinating the work for the liberation of Macedonia. He was a founder of a member of all the societies that organized guerrilla

Chetnik The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

actions as well as educational and benefactory work in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. Janić was connected with top state officials. Later he was close to

Nikola Pašić Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat. During his political career, which spanned almost five decades, he served five times as prime minis ...

, who consulted him on all matters concerning Macedonia. Also, all of the buildings and estates that the Serbian government purchased in Kosovo and Macedonia for new schools were registered on Janić's name. Janić was one of the founders of the ''Serbian Committee'' which from September 1903 coordinated the transfer of

units across the border into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

; that is – to Macedonia. In 1905 he founded the society called ''Srpska braća'' ("Serbian Brothers") who took over the work of the Committee. The seat of the society was in Janić's house in Terazije. The same society also took part in humanitarian actions, such as gathering help from Serbs in USA to the flood-stricken areas of Serbia in 1910. ''Srpska braća'' seized to operate after World War One. In 1915 he retreated with the Serbian army to

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the urban area has 71,462 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 106,720 inha ...

but then returned to Belgrade where he spent the entire Austro-Hungarian occupation. He died in 1918 just before the Serbian army entered the city.

Endowment funds

Bosiljka Janić founded several endowment funds. The first one was in money given to the newly established Faculty of Philosophy and to Teachers' School in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

to reward the best essays on history and ethnography of Macedonia once per year. The second fund was in money and buildings with the purpose of building each year a new school in Macedonia, with a home for teachers in Southern Serbia and today's Macedonia. The third fund was dedicated to helping poor primary-school children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janic, Golub 1853 births 1918 deaths Serbian merchants Serbian politicians Chetniks of the Macedonian Struggle People from Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality People from the Kingdom of Serbia Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Serbia Immigrants to the Principality of Serbia Serbian soldiers Serbian–Turkish Wars (1876–1878) Serbs from the Ottoman Empire