Matija Mesić ( Brod na Savi, February 19, 1826 – Zagreb, December 5, 1878) was a Croatian historian, university professor, the first rector of the University of Zagreb. He graduated

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the Royal Academy of Science in 1844, and theology at the Vienna Pázmáneum in 1848. After being ordained and a short chapel service, he worked as a probationary professor of history and geography at the gymnasium in Zagreb. In the period 1851–1853 he studied history and geography in Vienna and Prague. He received a professorship at the Law Academy in Zagreb in 1854, working as a director of the same institution since 1871. He participated in the work of Croatian parliament and served as the president of

Matica ilirska A Matica or Matice or Matitsa is a Slavic concept of a foundation which promotes national culture and gained prominence during the 19th-century romantic nationalism. In this context, the word ''matica'' is translated as queen bee or queen ant. ...

. He was a full member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts since 1867. In 1874 he was selected as a full professor of

Croatian history At the time of the Roman Empire, the area of modern Croatia comprised two Roman provinces, Pannonia and Dalmatia. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the area was subjugated by the Ostrogoths for 50 years, before b ...

at the Faculty of Philosophy. In the academic year 1874/75 he had the honor to be the first rector of the Royal University of Franz Joseph I in Zagreb. In the opening ceremony, on the October 19th 1874, he held his famous speech in which he warned on the importance of modern university. In his works he systematically and critically dealt with the period of Croatian history of late Middle Ages in the period of Jagiellon dynasty. A street on Šalata in Zagreb bears his name since 1928.

References

Mesić's biography
at the University of Zagreb website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mesic, Matija 1826 births 1878 deaths People from Slavonski Brod 19th-century Croatian historians Academic staff of the University of Zagreb Rectors of the University of Zagreb Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery