Josip Marohnić (November 12, 1866 – January 23, 1921) remains up to this day the most influential Croatian

emigrant Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

in the Americas. Marohnić was born in Hreljin,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

(then in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

) and lived in the United States for 28 years, where he emigrated alone in 1893 and was later joined by his wife Andrijana and daughter Josipa. He started working at a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's local printing house before attending

Wheaton College (Illinois) Wheaton College is a private Evangelical Christian liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois. It was founded by evangelical abolitionists in 1860. Wheaton College was a stop on the Underground Railroad and graduated one of Illinois' first ...

. He later founded his own print house and bookstore, and became publisher, writer and editor of his newspaper "Hrvatski glasnik". In 1897 Marohnić moved to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

where he founded the

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

St. Nicholas Parish, the first Croatian church in America, and invited a Croatian

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

to spiritually lead Croatian-Americans. He acted as the main accountant of the National Croatian Community (preceding the

Croatian Fraternal Union The Croatian Fraternal Union ( hr, Hrvatska bratska zajednica) (CFU), the oldest and largest Croatian organization in North America, is a fraternal benefit society of the Croatian diaspora based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US. History and ...

founded on 11th convention) between 1897 and 1909. He was also the founding father and lifetime President of the

from 1912 until his death on January 23, 1921, leaving behind his wife and four children. Marohnić devoted his life to Croatians in the US and they honored him with a magnificent funeral. Marohnić founded the "First Croatian Bookstore" in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

. As an editor, he published books, manuals, grammars, dictionaries, calendars, novels, anthologies, short stories, theatrical works, humorous books, collections of poetry, various books of folklore, maps, albums, breviaries and books of religious nature. He was the first poet among Croatian emigrants, having published his collections "Jesenke" in 1897 and "Amerikanke" in 1900Literature by Croatian Americans
/ref> and his "

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of Croats in America". In 1911, he was the first

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

officially invited by an American president. A street in

Trnje Trnje () is a district in the City of Zagreb, Croatia. According to the 2011 census, the district had 42,282 residents. It is located in the central part of the city, south of Donji grad across the railway ( Zagreb Main Station), east of Treš ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, the Croatian capital, was named after him; the street is now the site of

SRCE The University Computing Centre in Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilišni računski centar, abbreviated SRCE, which also means "heart") has a long tradition in the area of information and communication technologies. It was founded in 1971 within the University ...

("Sveučilišni računski centar" - "University Computing Centre").

References

External links

St. Nicholas Parish, Pittsburgh Today

Croatian Fraternal Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marohnic, Josip 1866 births 1921 deaths 19th-century Croatian people 19th-century American people American poetry in immigrant languages Croatian Eastern Catholics American Eastern Catholics Religious leaders from Pittsburgh American people of Croatian descent Croatian Austro-Hungarians Eastern Catholic poets Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni People from Bakar Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States

See also

References

External links