Dimitrije "Mita" Rakić (15/27 October 1846 – 17 March 1890) was a Serbian writer, historian, politician, translator, philosopher, diplomat and economist. He pursued a philosophy of social mechanism as an administrator for the Ministry of Finance. He is the father of poet

Milan Rakić Milan Rakić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Ракић; 18 September 1876 – 30 June 1938) was a Serbian poet-diplomat and academic. He focused on dodecasyllable and hendecasyllable verse, which allowed him to achieve beautiful rhythm and rh ...

Life

Rakić was born on the 15 of October (Old Style) or 27 October (Gregorian Calendar) 1846 into a prominent military family in

Mionica Mionica ( sr-cyr, Мионица, ) is a town and municipality located in the Kolubara District of western Serbia. , the population of the town is 1,590, while population of the municipality is 12,061 inhabitants. Geography The township of Mionic ...

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

. Literature and culture were abiding passions in the family. He studied at the

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 ...

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 ...

and later went abroad to pursue further studies in economics in

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, and London. Upon his return to Serbia he was one of the founders of the political magazine ''Videlo'' which became quite influential.Љиљана Урошевић: Потомци кнеза Раке Тешића, pp. 149-150, у часопису „Гласник“
број 36
Историјски архив Ваљево, 2002. године. Rakić died on 17 March 1890 in Belgrade, at the age of 43.

Career and publications

Rakić became the administrator of the Ministry of Finance but was fired in June 1880 after a disagreement with Vladimir Jovanović. This incident became controversial after ''Videlo'' responded by publishing Rakić's account of the dismissal and the reprinting of Jovanovic liberal articles during the 1860s. He translated the works of major foreign writers, like

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'';

Michał Czajkowski Michał Czajkowski (29 September 180418 January 1886), also known in Turkey as Mehmet Sadyk Pasha (), was a Polish writer and political émigré of distant Cossack heritage who worked both for the resurrection of Poland and also for the reestab ...

's ''Cossack Tales'';

John William Draper John William Draper (May 5, 1811 – January 4, 1882) was an English polymath: a scientist, philosopher, physician, chemist, historian and photographer. He is credited with pioneering portrait photography (1839–40) and producing the first deta ...

's ''History of the Intellectual Development of Europe''; and works by

Ludwig Feuerbach Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (; ; 28 July 1804 – 13 September 1872) was a German anthropologist and philosopher, best known for his book '' The Essence of Christianity'', which provided a critique of Christianity that strongly influenced ge ...

. From 1868 to 1876 he edited ''Škola'' (School), a tri-monthly scholastic journal. He was a voluminous writer on educational subjects and was the author of various school-textbooks. He authored 100 books, including several novels, and published hundreds of studies, papers, monographs, and learned articles. Among his pedagogical textbooks were: ''Schools in Serbia'' (1868); ''A Study Guide'' (1869); ''Pedagogical Studies'' (1870); ''School Hygiene'' (1870); ''History of Pedagogy'' (1871); ''School Discipline'' (1871); '' Adolph Diesterweg'' (1871); ''Schools for the Rights of Citizens and Responsibilities'' (1873). The

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imperial city on the slopes of the Radan mountain in the municipality of

Lebane Lebane ( sr-cyr, Лебане) is a town and municipality located in Jablanica District of southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the town has a population of 8,025 inhabitants, while the municipality has 18,119 inhabitants. Geography The ...

was discovered because of Rakić's writings. In 1881 he received the Order of the Takovo Cross and other equally prestigious awards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakic, Mita 1846 births 1890 deaths Finance ministers of Serbia People from Mionica People from the Principality of Serbia Serbian writers Serbian translators Serbian philosophers Serbian diplomats Serbian economists 19th-century translators