Stojan Novaković ( sr-Cyrl, Стојан Новаковић; 13 November 1842 – 18 February 1915) was a Serbian politician, historian, diplomat, writer,

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

, literary critic, literary historian, and translator. He held the post of Prime Minister of the

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 ...

on two occasions, post of minister of education on three occasions, minister of interior on one occasion and leading the foremost liberal

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

of that time in Serbia, the Progressive Party. He was also one of the most successful and skilled Serbian diplomats, holding the post of envoy to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Noted intellectual, Stojan Novaković was the president of the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts 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 Prize, Nobel la ...

, head of the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...

the first president and a founding member of Serbian Literary Guild, Professor at the

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 ...

Grande école A (; ) is a specialized top-level educational institution in France and some other countries such as Morocco and Tunisia. are part of an alternative educational system that operates alongside the mainstream List of public universities in Franc ...

, member of Serbian, Yugoslav, French,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

, Polish and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

academies.Ković, Miloš, ''Srbi 1903-1914: Istorija ideja'', Clio, Belgrade, 2015., , p. 471. Stojan Novaković is considered one of the foremost Serbian historians of the nineteenth century and one of the founders of modern Serbian historiography.

Scholarly career

Novaković was the first Serbian-educated scholar of the 19th century that obtained international renown. After finishing his secondary education in Belgrade (1860), he studied law and philosophy until 1863 at the

Belgrade Lyceum The Lyceum of the Principality of Serbia was the first higher education school in Serbia in which education was taught in Serbian. History The Lyceum of the Principality of Serbia () was founded in 1838 on the initiative of Prince Miloš Obre ...

(') that was eventually transformed into the Belgrade's

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 ...

('). In 1865 he became a professor in this Belgrade institution of higher learning. By 1872 he was the librarian of the

and curator of the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

in Belgrade. As a young scholar, he was founder and editor of the journal ''Vila'' (''Fairy Lady'') that was published from 1865 to 1868. In the early years of his scholarly engagement, Novaković translated into Serbian

Leopold von Ranke Leopold von Ranke (21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of ...

's monumental work ''Die Serbische Revolution'', as well as its revised and updated edition (1864–1892) as well as the equally famous ''Histoire de Charles XII'' by

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

(1897) and Joseph Scherr, ''General History of Literature'' from German (1872–1874). An admirer of

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, Novaković translated into Serbian his famous poem '' Grażyna'' in 1886 and the famous poem "The Captive of the Caucasus" by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

. Stojan Novaković was one of the founders and first president of the Serbian Literary Cooperative in 1892, a prestigious publishing house for the most important literary and historical works. He was strongly influenced by internationally renowned professors of Slavic philology and literature, in particular by Pavel Jozef Šafárik, who was living and working in Serbia at the time, and Đura Daničić, the translator of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

into the vernacular. Under the influence of Daničić, Novaković wrote "The History of Serbian Literature," (''Istorija srpske književnosti'') in 1867 (revised in 1871), and compiled also the first "Serbian Bibliography" (''Srpska bibliografija za noviju književnost, 1741–1867'') in 1869, published by the Serbian Learned Society, which resulted in him becoming a corresponding member of the Yugoslav Academy in Zagreb in 1870. He prepared simplified, but complete manuals for Serbian grammar that were widely published and used in various schools. In 1865 Novaković was elected member of Serbian Learned Society in Belgrade, the precursor of the Serbian Royal Academy ( sr-Latn, Srpska kraljevska akademija), officially founded in 1886. When the Serbian Royal Academy was founded Novaković was made one of its 16 initial members, while in 1906 he became President of the Academy, a position he held until his death in 1915. It was at the initiative of Novaković that the Serbian Royal Academy started comprehensive research and collection of various materials available throughout the Serb-inhabited

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, which realized the '' Dictionary of Serbo-Croatian Literary and Vernacular Language''. Although a disciple of Đura Daničić, who was concentrated primarily on linguistic issues, Novaković managed to expand the field of research, establishing a multi-disciplinary approach in treating all the social sciences related to national history, culture and tradition. The early works of Novaković were mainly on poetry and literature, including his own early poetry (''Pevanija'', 1862) and attracted minor interest, as did his early novels (''Nesrećni andjelak, Kob, Lepa Nerećanka, Vampir, Kaludjer'') written between 1862 and 1865. Novaković was the Serbian counterpart to the prominent Slavist scholars, philologists such as

Dobrovský or Šafárik among

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

, Jernej (Bartholomeus) Kopitar and

Franz Miklosich Franz Miklosich (, also known in Slovene as ; 20 November 1813 – 7 March 1891) was a Slovenian philologist and rector of the University of Vienna. Early life Miklosich was born in the small village of Radomerščak near the Lower Styrian town ...

among

Slovenians The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

, and Vatroslav Jagić among

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

. A scholar of Renaissance knowledge and interest, Novaković was able to use sources published in a dozen

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...

, as well as the growing literature in French, English, and German. After learning Latin and Greek, Novaković, already established as a promising scholar in Slavic literature and linguistics, was able to use medieval sources for his extensive historical research on medieval

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and the

. His first major study on historic geography, published in 1877, covered the reign of

Stefan Nemanja Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince (Grand Župan#Serbia, Veliki Župan) of the Grand Principality of Serbia, Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška (region), Raš ...

(''Zemljište radnje Nemanjine''). His major work on medieval Serbia, the monograph on late Nemanjić period (''Serbs and Turks in 14th and 15th centuries)'', was published in 1893, while his other important works based on unused documents including the studies of

pronoia The ''pronoia'' (plural ''pronoiai''; Greek: πρόνοια, meaning "care", "forethought" or "providence," from πρό, "before," and νόος, "mind") was a system of granting dedicated streams of state income to individuals and institutions i ...

(''Pronijari i baštinici'') from 1887, village life in the medieval epoch (''Selo''), a comprehensive social and historical study, from 1891, and ''The Old Serbian Army'' (''Stara srpska vojska''), from 1893, as well as a study on medieval Serbian capitals in Rascia and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

(Nemanjićke prestonice: Ras, Pauni, Nerodimlje), published in 1911, were considered as chapters of the comprehensive, multi-volume monograph ''The People and the Land in the Old Serbian State'' (''Zemlja i narod u staroj srpskoj državi'') which was never fully completed. The comprehensive volume of medieval documents under the title'' Legal Documents of Serbian Medieval States'' (''Zakonski spomenici srpskih država srednjeg veka''), from 1912, still stands as the main source on the subject for medieval Serbia (Rascia),

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, and Dioclea (Zeta). Another major volume is a scholarly edition of the Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan's Code (''Zakonik Stefana Dušana cara srpskog''), based on the manuscript found in

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

, and a work on the Byzantine legal sources of Serbian medieval law (''Matije Vlastara Sintagmat''), a subject he treated on several occasions. His other studies, also based on primary sources and available literature in various languages, covered the modern period, prior and during the

Serbian revolution The Serbian Revolution ( / ') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Sanjak of Smederevo, Ottoman province into a Revolutionary Serbia, reb ...

(1804–1835): ''The Ottoman Empire prior to the Serbian Insurrection, 1780-1804'' (''Tursko carstvo pred srpski ustanak 1780-1804''), ''The Resurrection of Serbia'' (''Vaskrs države srpske'') in 1904 (translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and published in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

in 1912), as well as the detailed analysis of first phase of Serbian Revolution (''Ustanak na dahije 1804''). In 1907, equally important was the analysis of the struggle between “supreme and central government” in insurgent Serbia: ''The Constitutional Question and the Law under Karageorge'' (''Ustavno pitanje i zakon Karadjordjeva vremena''). Apart from scholarly work, Novaković published political analysis mostly under the pseudonym "Šarplaninac". These studies on contemporary politics, ethnographic questions, religious strife and national propaganda of various Balkan states, were published as a collection of papers under the title ''Balkan Questions'' (''Balkanska pitanja'') in 1906. In addition to political works, Novaković published several travelogues, on

(''Pod zidinama Carigrada''),

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

(''Brusa'') and Turkey-in-Europe (''S Morave na Vardar'').

Political career

Novaković became the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs in Jovan Ristić’s Liberal cabinet in April 1873 and started to prepare the Law on high schools in Serbia. In October 1873 he became anew the Librarian, and in November 1874 again the Minister of Education in the Cabinet of Aćim Čumić and in 1875 was offered the same ministerial post at the government of Prime Minister Danilo Stefanović. He became a professor at the Belgrade's

in 1875, while from 1880 to 1883 he was, for the third time, the minister of education in the Milan Piroćanac conservative Progressive government, when he managed to regulate the status and legal position of both primary and secondary schools. Stojan Novaković, a kind of Serbian

Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...

, introduced compulsory primary education for Serbian children, and prepared and made passed dozens of important, often French-inspired bills into laws in the National Assembly. Being an early member of the group of Western-oriented intellectuals that formed the Progressive Party (Napredna stranka) in 1880, soon to be a pillar of King Milan Obrenović's Austrophile and Turkophile policy, Novaković was, as other Progressives led by Milan Piroćanac and Milutin Garašanin, in favour of enlightened Western-inspired reforms that were to be introduced to the predominantly peasant society of Serbia. In 1883, Novaković became a member of the State Council (Državni Savet), only to be reassigned shortly as Minister of Interior 1884 in Milutin Garašanin's government. He soon stepped down after judging that Garašanin was making too many concessions to King Milan Obrenović, before eventually returning to a more stable State Council. Novaković eventually entered into Serbian diplomacy in 1885. He was sent as the Serbian envoy to

, considered, along with

and St. Petersburg, as one of the most important posts in that period. The diplomatic convention with Ottoman Turkey signed in 1886, due to Novaković's skillful negotiations, made possible the opening of Serbian consulates 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 ...

, and

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. Novaković stayed as Serbian envoy to Constantinople for almost seven years, until 1892. He was instrumental in organizing a huge network of Serbian consulates, secular and religious Serbian schools and Serb religious institutions throughout Turkey-in-Europe, in particular in

Metohija Metohija (), also known in Albanian as Dukagjini, (, ) is a large drainage basin, basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo. The region covers 35% (3,891 km2) of Kosovo's total area. According to the 2024 ce ...

and

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

between

and Monastir (Bitolj, Bitola). Furthermore, Novaković initiated the establishment of closer Serbian-

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

cooperation, both with the government in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...

.He became the first politician to decide to use the marginal, the nascent and ideologically unformed at this time Macedonian nationalism as an ideology, in order to oppose the strong Bulgarian positions in

and as a transitional stage towards the complete

Serbization Serbianisation American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), or ...

of the Slavic population in Macedonia, and even became the creator of the

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

expression "Macedonism" used in Bulgaria. As President of State Council, 1892–1895, Novaković was a member of a foreign policy committee that was instrumental to the flourishing of Serbian schools in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, as well as to the restoration of the vacant bishopric seat in

Old Serbia Old Serbia () is a Serbian historiographical term that is used to describe the territory that according to the dominant school of Serbian historiography in the late 19th century formed the core of the Serbian Empire in 1346–71. The term does ...

(the Vilayet of Kosovo) to a Serbian Metropolitan. As the Prime Minister under King Aleksandar Obrenović (1895–1896), Novaković managed to convert the state debt, and avoid the financial collapse of Serbia. In order to obtain efficient protection of persecuted

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Serbs in Ottoman

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, Novaković sided with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, laying the ground for further political gains in that area. After resigning from the government, Novaković, in October 1897, retired from leadership in the Progressive Party. Appointed anew as Serbian envoy to Constantinople (1897–1900), Novaković organized the first diplomatic action in order to protect Christian Serbs in the vilayet of Kosovo (

), that were being persecuted by

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

outlaws. Lacking Russian support, this action, additionally suppressed by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, did not bring tangible results but raised awareness of both the Serbian and European public of the difficult conditions of the Serbs living under Turkish rule. The correspondence of Novaković with the Ottoman Foreign Minister was published in a bilingual French-Serbian “blue book”, ''Documents diplomatiques. Correspondance concernant les actes de violence et de brigandage des Albanais dans la Vieille Serbie (Vilayet de Kosovo) 1989-1889 (Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Belgrade 1899)''. After a brief appointment to

in 1900, Novaković was reassigned to St. Petersburg, where he remained to be the envoy of Kingdom of Serbia until 1904. He retired in 1905. Nevertheless, as the most senior of Serbian statesmen, Novaković was appointed Prime Minister of the all-party government (1908–1909) during the

Bosnian crisis The Bosnian Crisis, also known as the Annexation Crisis (, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Aneksiona kriza, Анексиона криза) or the First Balkan Crisis, erupted on 5 October 1908 when Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzeg ...

provoked by the annexation of Bosnia & Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, considered both as a violation of the Treaty of Berlin of 1878 and of legitimate Serbian interests. Novaković got no tangible results in his mission to Constantinople in order to persuade the Young Turk government to oppose the annexation of Bosnia. After being abandoned by both

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the annexation crisis,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

was obliged to formally accept the ''fait accompli'' imposed by Vienna in March 1909. His last, highly successful diplomatic mission as the first delegate was as the head of the Serbian delegation at the Conference of Ambassadors in London summoned after the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

(1912–1913). During difficult deliberations in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the efforts and expertise offered by Novaković proved vital in providing significant territorial gains for Serbia in

and Macedonia at the expense of Ottoman Turkey. After retirement in 1905, Novaković published a memoir in 1912 regarding the political situation in Serbia from 1883 to 1903, covering two decades of rule of the two last Obrenović rulers, various issues regarding the Constitution (he was in favor of two chamber system), and the role of the King and the level of democracy in the then-highly politically divided society of Serbia (''Dvadeset godina ustavne politike u Srbiji : 1883-1903 : istorijsko-memoarske zapiske k tome vremenu i k postanju i praktikovanju Ustava od 1888 i 1901''). More of a cabinet scholar than a political leader, Novaković remained famous for his vast knowledge on various sources, strict methodological approach, dispassionate analysis and patriotic interest in discovering unknown historical data on Serbian history.

Personal life

Novaković was born as Kosta Novaković but changed his first name to Stojan. One of his close friends and correspondents was sociology pioneer and jurist Valtazar Bogišić. He was married to Jelena Kujundžić, sister of Milan Kujundžić Aberdar.

Legacy

He is included in The 100 most prominent Serbs list. Novaković received a number of orders and decoration both in Serbia and abroad. Historian Radovan Samardžić called him "a great polyhistor" and noticed Novaković's importance on the development of Serbian historiography and his influence on the work of dr Vladimir Ćorović.

Selected works

Novaković authored more than 400 works and 50 books. * , U Biogradu : Srpsko učeno društvo, 1869, XXIV+644 pp. * , Beograd : izdanje i štampa Državne štamparije, 1871, XII+332 pp. * , U Biogradu : u Državnoj štampariji, 1871, 40 pp. * , Beograd, Izdanje i štampa Državne štamparije, 1877, XXVII+593 pp. * , Beograd: u Državnoj štampariji, 1877, 83 pp. * 1879, pp. 413–462 * , Beograd, Kraljevsko-srpska državna štamparija, 1884, 140 pp. * , U Beogradu, u Kraljevsko-srpskoj Državnoj štampariji, 1885, 100 pp. * ", Beograd, Kraljevsko-srpska državna štamparija, 1887, 102 pp. (Glas, Srpska kraljevska akademija, vol. 1) * , Beograd, Kraljevsko-srpska državna štamparija, 1888, 87 pp. (Glas, Srpska Kraljevska Akademija, vol. 10) * , Beograd, Državna štamparija Kraljevine Srbije, 1892, 55 pp. (Glas, Srpska Kraljevska Akademija, vol. 32) * , Beograd, Kraljevska srpska državna štamparija, 1892, 76 pp. * , 1. celokupno izd., Beograd, izdanje i štampa Državne štamparije, 1894, XXII+512 pp. * , Beograd, Kraljevsko-srpska državna štamparija, 1893, 207 pp. * , Beograd, Kralj.-srp. državna štamparija,1893, 49 pp. (Glas, Srpska kraljevska akademija, vol. 36) * , Beograd, Državna štamparija, 1898, CLIII+ 312 pp. (Izdanje Zadužbine Ilije M. Kolarca; vol. 91) * , Beograd : Državna štamparija Kraljevine Srbije, 1900, IV+118 pp. * , Beograd, Zadužbina Ilije M. Kolarca,1904, VIII+208 pp.(Izdanje Zadužbine Ilije M. Kolarca; vol. 103) * , 2. popunjeno i popravljeno izd. Beograd, Srpska književna zadruga, 1904, 252 pp. * , Beograd, Državna štamparija Kraljevine Srbije, 1905, 58 pp. * , Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, 1906, VIII, 429 pp. * , Beograd, Izdanje Zadužbine I. M. Kolarca,1906, VIII+ 559 pp. * , Beograd, "Dositej Obradović" – Štamparija Ace M. Stanojevića, 1907, 55 pp. * Stojana Novakovića, Beograd, Nova štamparija "Davidović", 1907 IV+131 pp. * :književno-istorijska studija Stojana Novakovića, Beograd, Državna štamparija Kraljevine Srbije, 1907, 121 pp. * , Beograd, Državna štamparija Kraljevine Srbije, 1907, LXXXVII+621 pp. (Zbornik za istoriju, jezik i književnost srpskoga naroda. Prvo odeljenje, Spomenici na srpskom jeziku, knj. 4) * , Beograd, Štamparija "Štampa" St. M. Ivković i Komp., 1910, 100 pp. * , Beograd, Državna štamparija Kraljevine Srbije, 1911, 54 pp. * , Beograd, Državna štamparija Kraljevine Srbije, 1911, 96 pp. * , Knj. 5, Beograd, Srpska kraljevska akademija, 1912 XLII+912 pp. (Posebna izdanja, Srpska Kraljevska Akademija, vol. 37) * , Beograd, S. B. Cvijanović, 1912, 336 pp. * , Beograd, Zadužbina I. M. Kolarca, 1913, 296 pp. * , Beograd, Srpska književna zadruga, 1965 243 pp. (Introduction and comments, Sima M. Ćirković) * , B. M. Nedeljković (ed.), Beograd : Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti,1968, IX + 264 pp.(Zbornik za istoriju, jezik i književnost srpskog naroda, Odeljenje 1, vol. 28) * , Beograd, Srpska književna zadruga, 1982 XX+478 pp. (comments by S.M. Ćirković) * , ed. M. Vojvodić, Beograd : Clio & Arhiv Srbije, 2003, 615 pp. * , Beograd, Zavod za udžbenike, 2007, XVI+500 pp. (Izabrana dela Stojana Novakovića; knj.7) * , Belgrade: Zavod za udžbenike 2001-2008, 16 vols.( Zemlje i narod u staroj srpskoj državi, Spisi iz istorijske geografije, Srbi i Turci, Tursko carstvo pred srpski ustanak, Vaskrs države srpske, Balkanska pitanja, Nacionalna pitanja i misao, vol I, Nacionalna pitanja i misao vol. II, Autobiografski spisi, Istorija srpske književnosti, Prvi osnovi slovenske književnosti, Stara srpska književnost vol. I, Stara srpska književnost vol. II, Primeri književnosti i jezika starog srpskoslovenskog, O narodnoj tradiciji i narodnoj književnosti, Srpska bibliografija).

References

External links

RTS Documentary - Staro srpsko pisano nasleđe: Stojan Novaković polihistor i vizionar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novakovic, Stojan 1842 births 1915 deaths Finance ministers of Serbia Writers from Šabac Belgrade Higher School alumni Historians of the Balkans Serbian Progressive Party (Kingdom of Serbia) politicians 19th-century Serbian historians Serbian literary historians Serbian medievalists Politicians from Šabac Diplomats for the Kingdom of Serbia Serbian male writers Serbian literary critics Literary critics of Serbian Serbian translators Serbian philologists Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery 19th-century translators Foreign ministers of Serbia Education ministers of Serbia Interior ministers of Serbia Prime ministers of Serbia