Adam František Kollár Part I.

"Slovak Socrates"

Today, I´m more than proud to present you this great man in every word meaning as this day is the 295. anniversey of his birth. He is quite lucky to belong to those slovak historical characters, about who children are still learning in school and so he is still remembered. And I´d like you, to know about him even more than some good friend could tell you :)

   Two Slovaks from Terchová

Adam František Kollár was born this day, again, in 1718 in Terchová (small village in central Slovakia now, formerly Terhely, Turózs county in Kingdom of Hungary). There have been born two great personages of our history in Terchová: A.F. Kollár and Juraj Jánošík (my post) who was hanged on a rib exactly 3 years and a month before Kollár´s date of birth. Two completly different (maybe even opposite) men as an image of Slovak nation. And now you can finally compare them on my blog. But anyway, he was born to the family of lower nobleman Matej Kolárik and his wife Regína Koláriková (born Myslovská).

   "Slovak I am and Slovak I´ll be"

If you have a chance to see some wrintings of his name, most of the time there is not used the slovak equivalent of it. What you can find is, in Latin Adamo Francisco/ Franciscus or German Franz or Hungarian Ferenc, all as Slovak František. Slovak language wasn´t officialy codified nor accepted in that time. Again, what is nice, that he was very proudly admitting his Slovak origin and developed studying of Slavic history (Slovaks belong to the group of Slavic nations).

   Education

As he is generally called "Slovak Socrates" the education is very important thing to talk about. In 1723 he moved to Banská Bystrica. First, he attended slovak jesuit colleges in Banská Bysrica, Banská Štiavnica and Trnava. This was all in Upper Hungary, now country of Slovakia. Then, in 1740 he started to study in Vienne. Philosophy, laws, classical and oriental languages. But he was learning all his life, thanks to it, he spoke 27 languages.

   Career

In years 1742 - 1745 he worked as a professor of jesuit high school in Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš. His career went on and he became a scribe of Imperial - Royal Library in Vienna in 1748. Then, very clever Kollár was named a second custodian and then the first custodian of IR Library in 1758. In this positions Adam´s work couldn´t end. He, for example, in 1756 completed and published Turkish Grammar Institutiones Linguae Turcicae from Fr. Mesganien - Meninski, or, he made a systematic catalogue of teological prints of the library. In years 1761 - 1762 he also published a collection of unknown documents, annals and chronicles, what get him in line with other well known scolars in the world.

 In 1763 he developed his plans for establishing a Hungarian (Kingdom of Hungary) University of Sciences and also published "Hungaria et Attila, seu de oringinbus gentis Hungariae" (Hugary and Attila, or about the origin of hungarian nation) by Mikuláš Oláh (Hungarian (again not today´s Hungary but Kingdom of Hungary) arcibishop and humanist intellectual of 16. century). Still, he was lecturing and translted Urbar by Maria Theresa (register of vassals´ obligations towards lords) to slovak language, as I mentioned above, the language wasn´t official (the official language of Kingdom of Hungary was hungarian) but it was a laguage of Slovaks, living in upper Hungary (now Slovakia) and without the translation they couldn´t understant it, as hungarian/ german laguage was total lingo for them. In this period, he also finished "De ortu, progressu et incolatu nations Ruthenicae in Hungaria"  about history of Carpathian Ruthenians and their church life.

His star was rising. In 1772, after the death of prefect Gerard van Swieten, Kollár was appointed as a chief of IR Library and from it, it took him only 2 years to became a director of IR Library, member of Iperial - Royal Court Study Commission - board of education and culture, director of all gymnasiums in the realm and, fianlly, Councilor at the Court of, herself, Maria Theresa!

 

What a man, ha? :D And this still isn´t the end! Just wait for PART TWO!!

Juraj Jánošík

17. March 1713 was the day, when Juraj Jánošík, in a cause of banditing, was sentenced and hanged on rob. That makes this day a 300 anniversery of his executon, so I decided to devote todays article to him.

Juro Jánošík, how we Slovaks call him famillary, is one of the most significant icons of Slovak culture. He is one of the few characters in Slovak history, who is still rembered and very popular. I can say myslef, as a native, that every child knows him, no matter what, and until he is in our minds, as an enteral hero of miserable Slovak nation, he will survive. In Slovakia, we have a wonderful (not that I like to hear it) phrase for "miserable Slovak nation" - "zbedačený slovenský ľud", very common phrase, especially in historical themes.
   Juraj Jánošík was born in Terchová (Terhely, small village in central Slovakia now, formerly Turózs county in Kingdom of Hungary) before 25. 1. 1688, as this is the date of his baptism in village register of Varín (Várna), because Terchová didn´t have its own rectory in the time. He comes form a liege family and from his childhood, he worked with his parents (as most of the habitants of Upper Hugary - now Slovakia) on lands owned by Ján Jakub Lowenburg from Teplička nad Váhom (Vágtapolca). As 18 yeas old young man, he was recruited to rebellion against the emperor Karol - Carolus IV. (as king of Hungary Karol III.) and all Habsburgs led by František - Ferenc II. Rákóczy. The rebellion failed in the battle near Trenčín (Trencsén) in 1708 and Jánošík fled home. But the punishmet was waiting wor him, and so, to serve imperal army for a few years. You are maybe surprised by such a low punishment for, in every word meaning, treason, but the emperor knew that most of the rebels were actually just young men forced to join the revolt. Anyway, they made him a prison guard of popular highwayman, Tomáš Uhorčík, who they finally caught. But you know, the word gave a word and before long, they both ran away from Bytča Castle, they both were prisons of in 1711. The legendery adventure can start.
   Uhorčík convinced Jánošík to join his group of bandits and soon, after Uhorčík left, he became a captain. With his group, they raided merchants and lords in Trenčín, Orava, Liptov counties as well as in Poland and Morava. After a year military caught him in a pub where Uhorčík was innkeepering under the name of Martin Mravec. In March 1713 they caught him again. He was quite lucky to have a court hearing in Liptovský Mikuláš (Liptószentmiklós) and an advocate but that didn´t help him. The mitigating circumstance were his young age, that he was the youngest in the group, that they didn´t kill or hurt anybody, and that his crimes weren´t as horrible as crimes of others bandits, but as I said, it didn´t help him. Jánošík was sentenced to death in the most painful way - hang on a rib. He was only 25 in the time.

And that´s all we know. Anything else you think you know is probably, the most sure just a legend. The legend that was created in the time of the strong national oppression of not-hungary nations in Kingdom of Hungagy by people. And then, during the Slovak National Revival by national revivalist who was trying to do absolutely everything that was possible to rise the courage and awareness in slovak people. That was the time of romantism in our literature. The most popular oeuvre is Smrť Jánošíkova (Death of Jánošík) by Ján Botto. And that´s why we, Slovaks and Poles and Czechs see this man as Slovak Robin Hood. Who stole from rich and give it to poor. Because if the legend is true or not, we needed it. We needed a hero like this. To survive with a flame in heart and Slovak language on tonge.

The Icon of Juraj Janosik: More of a tradition than a history, more hero than a man.

Dr. Ján Vilček

Today is a very special day for at least one person. And that´s why I chosed him for this day person I admire. President Barack Obama named Ján T. Vilček, MD, PhD, a recipient of the prestigious National Medal of Technology and Innovation and gave him this price today, 1.2.2013. 

"I´m proud to honor these inspiring American innovators," President Obama said in a statement released  by the White House. "They represent the ingenuity and imagination that has long made this Nation great - and they remind us of the enormous impact a few good ideas can have when these creative qualities are unleashed in an entrepreneurial enviroment." 

   National Medal of Technology and Innovation is the nation´s highest honor for technological achivement, bestowed by the president of the United States on America´s leading innovators, who have made lasting contributions to America´s competitiveness and quality of life.  

   And why am I mentionig this? Well, because Dr. Vilček is a first Slovak who won this price and another prove of an often repressed fact that also in a such a small piece of land the greatest peolpe can by born. 

   Ján Vilček was born 17. June 1933 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). As a child he experienced World War II.. Slovak National Uprising and two years until the end of a war in a house of a very brave Slovak couple hidden with his, originally Jewish, family. Then they moved back to Bratislava.

Vilcek prize has a marvelous design

   In 1957 he completed a medical school. He joined the Institute  of Virology, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava as a research scientist. He was succesful in his work, married a Marica Vilček but the socialitic regime didn´t fit him. Both emigrated to the USA in 1956 where he joined NYU School of Medicine as a Assistant Professor of Microbiology.

   Vilček is being recognized for his pioneering work on interferons and contributions to the develoment of therapeutic monoclonal antobodies. His work was instrumental in the developmet of the anti - inflammatory drug Remicade, now widely used for the treatment of, for example, Crohn´s disease but the most famos - arthiris. About 2 million patients have been cured thanks to this medicine.

   But the great oeuvre hasn´t ended here. Vilček and his wife, an art historian, founded the Vilcek Foundation in 2000 which apprize another immigrats who contribute the professional, academic and artistic life in the US. In 2005 he donated 105 million dollars to NYU School of Medicine for research. In 2010 he was awarded the Slovakia Goodwill Ambrassador in Bratislava, as a Slovak who has made significant contributions while living aboard.

If you are interested watch this great video. It´s in Slovak with English subtitles :)

"Study of a certain problem is actually never really finished. Every finding opens new questions."

Dr. Ján T. Vilček