I went this winter with my husband to Germany. Our base was in Halle, Heiden’s hometown. We went few days to Berlin – with most silent trains. Berlin is great but not my cup of tea, but Leipzig was love at first sight…
What I noticed while was there what is a proper way to appreciate your history – god or bad- it is your backbone – it is your proof that you made mistakes or left something in a legacy for future generations. What i find amazing is that Croatia hasn’t use as much, nor god nor bad, parts of history ,even though a fair number of scientists and innovators and philosophers.
It is unfair to ignore so many people from Croatian history that gave, not only for their country, but for the whole world the base knowledge on which was build everything we now have…
My favorites are: Bošković – a physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, diplomat, poet, theologian, Jesuit priest, and a polymath from the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik); Faust Vrančić – an inovator (parachute, moving bridges), a polymath and bishop from Šibenik and his coeval Marco Antonio De Dominis (Theory about Rainbow was his, even Newton said so, but Descartes took all the glory) a Dalmatian ecclesiastic, archbishop of Split and Primate of Dalmatia and all Croatia, adjudged heretic of the Catholic faith, and man of science…
In recent history there are few we need to say at least names and what they gave to world. Slavoljub Penkala – invention of ball pen; Spirdon Brusina – edited the best local ornithological collection in the Austro-Hungarian Empire; Ivan Vučetić – the creator of the modern method of dactyloscopy – the discipline of criminal techniques, one of the safest and most common methods of identifying persons, based on the papillary lines on the fingers, palms and feet of people; Ivan Vukić (Giovanni Biagio Luppis Freiherr von Rammer) invention of torpedo; Leopold Stephen Ruzicka – winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his work on polymethylenes and higher terpenes” “including the first chemical synthesis of male sex hormones; Franjo Hanaman – invention of lightbulb with wolfram’s thread; Marino Getaldić – the application of algebra in geometry and a pioneer in making conic lenses; Benedict Kotruljević – dual bookkeeping system…Frane Petrić, John Mišković, Mario Puratić, David Schwarz, Tomislav Uzelac (mp3)…
The list is long, very long… this is not even a half! And btw. Tesla was born in Croatia, but if someone is giving him another adress, so be it..
I am beyond proud to be a part of same land just because of this magnificent minds that changed humanity..and history..
I draw most of them… I think I might do them all.. just to give a little smile of appreciation for this genius minds 🙂
Slavoljub Penkala
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