Smile Vojdanov (, originally spelled in older Bulgarian orthography: ''Смиле Войдановъ''; February 1, 1872 – March 4, 1958) was a Bulgarian and

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

revolutionary, member and

voivode 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 ...

of the

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

, and longtime activist in the

Macedonian People's League The Macedonian People's League (; MPL) was a leftist organization, founded in the United States.Stephan Thernstrom, Ann Orlov, Oscar Handlin eds., Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1980, , pp. ...

in emigration.

Biography

Vojdanov was born in Laktinje, a village near the city of

Kičevo Kičevo ( ; , sq-definite, Kërçova) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The city ...

. He studied in

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

, as well as at the Kičevo Monastery where he remained until 1890. In 1892, he worked as a teacher in his native village, and later from 1894 to 1897 as a pa-drone in Slivovo. The following year

Hristo Uzunov Hristo Dimitrov Uzunov (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian/; 22 February 1878 – 24 April 1905) was a Macedonian Bulgarians, Macedonian Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary, head of the Ohrid branch of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organizat ...

and Metodi Patchev introduced Smile Vojdanov into the VMRO. In 1901, Vojdanov began forming committees of the organization. During the

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...

, Vojdanov and his group were active in the area of Gorna Debarca. After the uprising was suppressed, Vojdanov headed to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. In March 1905 he entered Macedonia with his group and

Aleksandar Protogerov Aleksandar Protogerov (; 28 February 1867 – 7 July 1928) was a Bulgarian Army general, politician and revolutionary. He was among the leaders of the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee and the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organizat ...

. During the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, he served with the Macedonian-Adrianople group of volunteers in Bulgarian army. After the war, Petar Chaulev and Vojdanov, together with 189 rebels, returned to their revolutionary activities in Ohrid (now against the new

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 ...

n government). After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Vojdanov immigrated to America and settled in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

, where he started a small business. He joined the management committee of the newspaper ''Narodna Volja'' (''People's Will''). In 1931, he became chairman of the Central Committee of the

. In 1933, the United States created a special "Committee to Protect Macedonian rights and freedoms", chaired by the writer

Stoyan Christowe Stoyan Christowe (also known as Stojan Hristoff) was an American author, journalist and noted political figure in the state of Vermont. Born in what is now Makrychori, Makrochori, Greece, then a part of the Ottoman Empire, he is best remembere ...

. The Committee raised the slogan to unite all Bulgarians in America. to struggle for the liberation of Macedonia. This Committee sent a special delegation that consisted of Voydanov, Edward Haskell and Bishop D. Smith, who visited Athens and Belgrade. There he protested the persecution of Bulgarians who remained after World War within Greece and Yugoslavia. During his stay in Sofia the three publicly expressed their dissatisfaction in connection with political killings of leftist political leaders. After the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he joined the American Slavic Committee, an association of Americans of Slavic origin for protection and promotion of the Slavic population in a military Europe. Smile Vojdanov died in Pontiac, Michigan on March 4, 1958. The 150th anniversary of his birth was commemorated by

Macedonian American Macedonian Americans ( are Americans of ethnic Macedonian heritage. History Review Macedonian national feelings had shifted throughout the 20th century. According to the ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'', almost all of Macedo ...

s at his burial site in Pontiac in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vojdanov, Smile 1872 births 1958 deaths Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization American people of Macedonian descent Yugoslav emigrants to the United States Revolutionaries from the Ottoman Empire