Djordje "Djoko" Popović-Daničar ( Bukovac,

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, 1 November 1832 -

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

, 7 April 1914) was a Serbian journalist who as editor of Sedmica (Weekly), ''Srpski Dnevnik'' (Serbian Daily), ''Danica'' (Morningstar) and ''Napredak'' (Progress) established its reputation and founded a tradition of independent journalism. He is credited for being the first Serbian to translate the works of

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

. in late 1888, he was a Serbian consul in

Skoplje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultural center of t ...

during the time of the

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Biography

The son of a jurist, Djordje Popović was educated at Belgrade Lyceum (precursor to ''

Grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician * Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...

''and consequently the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

). Upon graduation, abandoning the idea of being called to the bar, he began writing on politics, literature, and theatre in ''Srpski dnevnik'' (Serbian Daily), to which he contributed literary portraits under the pseudonym "Daničar," after the name of the paper he founded. The turning point in Djordje Popović-Daničar's career came on 10 March 1860 when he first started to publish ''Danica'' (Morning Star) in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, then part of

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. The first issue of ''Danica'' came out on 20 February 1860, and the last 20 August 1872. Issues of the magazine were coming out every ten days, with an interruption from August 1871 to May 1872. Đorđe Popović initiated and edited this magazine from the first issue until August 1871.Digitalne kopije stranica svih brojeva časopisa ''Danica'', The third paper of those times was ''Napredak'' (Progress, 1863-1869) supported by the pen and intellectual strength of Djordje Popović-Daničar and his colleagues, Danilo Medaković, Mihailo Polit-Desančić and

Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Jovan Jovanović Zmaj ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Јовановић Змаj, pronounced ; 24 November 1833 – 1 June 1904) was a Serbian poet, translator and physician. Jovanović worked as a physician; he wrote in many poetry genres, including Lo ...

. The conception of the paper was not a firm one, it often vacillated and shared the fate of the differing views of its editors, who edited the paper and its trend. Daničar's influence on the Serbian language at the time, while it was undergoing reforms, has been significant enough to warrant a study a century later. It wasn't until forty years later that Daničar's work was completed and published. In 1864, eight chapters from Part I of Miguel de Cervantes's "

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

" were rendered into Serbian. A contemporary of events, Djordje Popović-Daničar once described the spirit prevailing in Serbia in one of the newspapers he was writing: "''When it was learned in Belgrade how Serbia had fared at the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano (; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It was signed at San Ste ...

(1878) everyone was dismayed''...." He was a corresponding member of the Society of Serbian Letters, elected on 21 January 1862. Also, a member of the

Serbian Learned Society The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel laureates Ivo ...

, appointed on the date of its foundation 29 May 1864. He was elected full member on 30 January 1885, at the Committee for Philosophical and Philological Sciences. He became a member of the

Serbian Royal Academy The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel laureates Ivo ...

on 15 November 1892. From 1876, he was a clerk of the National Press Bureau in

, from 1888 he was the general consul of Serbia in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

(during the time of the

), and the

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the

National Library of Serbia The National Library of Serbia () is the national library of Serbia, located in the capital city of Belgrade. It is the biggest library, and oldest institution in Serbia, one that was completely destroyed many times over in the last two centuries ...

Legacy

Daničareva Street in Belgrade is named after Popović's nickname. It was Djordje Popović-Daničar who discovered the poetic talents of

Laza Kostić Lazar Kostić ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Костић; 12 February 1841 – 27 November 1910) was a Serbian poet, prose writer, lawyer, aesthetics, aesthetician, journalist, publicist, and politician who is considered to be one of the greatest minds ...

References

* Translated and adapted from Serbian Wikipedia: :sr:Ђорђе Поповић Даничар {{DEFAULTSORT:Popović-Daničar, Djordje 19th-century Serbian people Serbian journalists Writers from Belgrade Translators of Miguel de Cervantes 1832 births 1914 deaths Serbian newspaper editors Serbian newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century publishers (people) 19th-century newspaper publishers (people) Serbian male writers