Vjekoslav Klaić | |
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| Born | (1849-06-21)21 June 1849 |
| Died | 1 July 1928(1928-07-01) (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Language | Croatian |
| Relatives | Nada Klaić (granddaughter) |
Vjekoslav Klaić (21 June 1849 – 1 July 1928) was aCroatianhistorian andwriter, most famous for his monumental workHistory of theCroats.
Klaić was born inGarčin nearSlavonski Brod as the son of a teacher. He was raised inGerman spirit and language, since his mother was German. Klaić went to school inVaraždin andZagreb. Literature and music were more to his liking in theseminary than history; some of his musical works were performed. He studied history and geography inVienna.[1] 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 theUniversity of Zagreb, where he stayed with short breaks until 1922, when he retired. He died inZagreb.
In 1896 he became a regular member of theYugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts,[1] and was an honourable doctor of theUniversity of Prague and an external member of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Klaić wrote for the weeklyHrvatska lipa of theCroatian Party of Rights and was the editor ofVienac for several years (1882–1889), founded an orchestra and conducted it, promoting Croatian music. In 1892 he started and edited the musical magazineGusle. He wrote short stories and political articles in the Croatian spirit.
Among his historical works, the special place belongs to the monumental historyPovijest Hrvata (History of theCroats), 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, pointed out (1914): "Materials, scientific method and details of Klaić's work surpass all the existing works of this kind in ourhistoriography", whileJaroslav 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 granddaughterNada Klaić was also a prominent historian.
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| Preceded by | Rector of theUniversity of Zagreb 1902–1903 | Succeeded by |
