David Starčević (1840 – November 18, 1908) was a Croatian politician and prominent member of the

Party of Rights The Party of Rights () was a Croatian nationalism, Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influ ...

. Starčević was born in Žitnik near

Gospić Gospić () is a town in Lika, Croatia. It is the seat of the Lika-Senj County. Geography Gospić is located in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika. It is the administrative center of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located n ...

in 1840. He is a relative of

Ante Starčević Ante Starčević ( ; 23 May 1823 – 28 February 1896) was a Croatian politician and writer. His policies centered around Croatian state law, the integrity of Croatian lands, and the right of Croats, his people to self-determination. As an import ...

, one of the most significant Croatian politicians who was one of the founders of the Party of Rights. He attended gymnasium in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, but in 1871 he was expelled due to suspicion that he was involved in the

Rakovica Revolt The Rakovica revolt () was an armed uprising in 1871 led by Croatian politician Eugen Kvaternik against authorities of Austria-Hungary, with the aim of establishing an independent Croatian state at the time when it was part of Austria-Hungary. The ...

, started by other founder of the Party of Rights,

Eugen Kvaternik Eugen Kvaternik (; 31 October 1825 – 11 October 1871) was a Croatian nationalist politician and one of the founders of the Party of Rights, alongside Ante Starčević. Kvaternik was the leader of the 1871 Rakovica Revolt which was an attempt ...

. After he was expelled from the Zagreb gymnasium, he attended

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and gained doctorate in law. In 1873 he started to work as a lawyer in

Jastrebarsko Jastrebarsko (; ), colloquially known as Jaska, is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. History Antiquity In 1865, remnants of a Roman settlement were uncovered in Repišće, Klinča Sela, a village in Jastrebarsko metropolitan area. Further ar ...

. He became one of the most active members of the Party of Rights after party's activity was renewed in 1878. In 1881 he gained seat in ''

Sabor The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor is composed of 151 members elected ...

'', Croatian parliament. He was fierce opponent of

Károly Khuen-Héderváry Count Károly Khuen-Héderváry de Hédervár, born as ''Károly Khuen de Belás'' (; ; 23 May 1849 – 16 February 1918) was a Hungarian politician and the ban of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in the late nineteenth century. Khuen's reign w ...

, who was at the time

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

which made him the most popular in the opposition. On 5 October 1885 he attacked Héderváry by grabbing his neck and one of his party colleagues kicked him in his breeches. The event was very popular in Croatia and Starčević boasted with this action. Héderváry denied such event and Starčević was sentenced for six months in prison because of slander, Starčević was also expelled from parliament. After conflict in the Party of Rights, he joined to the "Fatherland Faction" (''Domovinaši'') led by

Fran Folnegović Fran Folnegović (17 February 1848 – 18 July 1903) was a Croatian politician. He was a member of the Sabor of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia elected on the Party of Rights ticket six times. Folnegović became one of the principal members of th ...

, but in 1895 he joined Pure Party of Rights led by

Josip Frank Josip Frank (; 16 April 1844 – 17 December 1911) was a Croatian lawyer and politician, a noted representative of the Party of Rights in the Croatian Parliament, and a vocal advocate of Croatian national independence in Austria-Hungary. Early ...

; the faction was called ''Frankovci''. Soon, Starčević left the political life. He died in Jastrebarsko on 18 November 1908. Historiography normally refers to Ante and David Starčević as uncle and nephew. The two were first cousins once removed - David's grandfather (also named David) and Ante's father Jakov were brothers. Regardless, David referred to Ante as "uncle", and Ante referred to David (as well as to David's brother Mile Starčević) as "nephew" and historiography generally accepted those labels.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Starcevic, David 1840 births 1908 deaths People from Gospić 19th-century Croatian people Politicians from Austria-Hungary Party of Rights politicians Representatives in the Croatian Parliament (1848–1918) Budapest University alumni People expelled from public office