Prominent Serbs

Mira Stupica
Miroslava Mira Stupica (Gnjilane, August 17, 1923 – Belgrade, August 19, 2016) was, according to many, the greatest Serbian actress, along with Milena Dravić, declared the actress of the 20th century. With the director and husband, the great Bojan Stupica, she built both the foundations and the peaks, not only of the theatrical life of these areas, but also of culture in the broadest and most complete sense of the word. Cheerful, energetic, most of all charming, and charismatic. Her laughter, as was told, tore even the stars apart. Talent too. And wisdom as well.

She played Petrunella, Mirandolina, Baroness Castelli, Gloria, Nastasya Filippovna, Sasha Negina, Grushenka, Madame Sans-Gêne, Princess Xenia, the greatest titles of domestic and international, classical and contemporary literature. At the guest performances of Dundo Maroje and Yegor Bulychov in Paris, the hosts, seeing what kind of actress she was, gave her Sarah Bernard's wardrobe, which only special ones have access to.

She is the winner of all the most important theater and film awards and recognitions. She was awarded the White Angel Medal "for exceptional personal achievement in the field of art." She published a book of memoirs, A Handful of Salt, in 2000. She snatched the actress Žanka Stokić from oblivion and, establishing an award with her name, brought her back to the stage of the National Theater and into the collective memory. She died in Belgrade on August 19, 2016.

Mihailo Marković
Mihailo Marković (Belgrade, February 24, 1923 – Belgrade, February 7, 2010) was the most significant Serbian philosopher of the 20thcentury. He was born in Belgrade where, in the beginning of the war, in 1941, he graduated from the Second Belgrade Gymnasium. He fought during the occupation on the side of the Partisans, and left the war with the rank of Captain of the YNA.

He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in 1950. He obtained the title of lecturer in the subject Logic in 1953. He received his doctorate in 1955 in Belgrade with the subject Formalism in Contemporary Logic, and in London in 1956 with the subject The Concept of Logic. He was elected an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in 1956, an Associate Professor in 1958, and obtained the title of Full Professor in 1963.

He was Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in 1966/67. and Head of the Department for Logic and Methodology from 1962 to 1975. He was the Director of the Institute of Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade from 1967 to 1975. Due to his political views, he was suspended from the Faculty in 1975 and fired in 1981. After that, until his retirement in 1986, he was a scientific advisor at the Center for Philosophy and Social Theory of the Institute of Social Sciences in Belgrade. He was one of the founders of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade. He was elected a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) in 1963, and a full member in 1983.

He published several works in the field of philosophy, some of which, such as Dialectical Theory of Meaning (1961) and Philosophical Foundations of Science (1981), belong to the world's philosophical heritage. He collaborated on the largest world encyclopedia of philosophy published by the McMillan publishing house from New York in 1969, as one of the most important Serbian philosophers and logicians of the 20th century with a Marxist-Humanist orientation. On several occasions, he was a visiting Professor of Philosophy at eminent universities in the United States of America. He died in Belgrade on February 7, 2010.

Desanka Maksimović
Desanka Maksimović (Rabrovica near Valjevo, May 16, 1898 – Belgrade, February 11, 1993) was a prominent Serbian poet, prose writer and essayist whose work covers various themes, which have lyrical and emotional expressiveness in common.

A poet, professor of literature and member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Desanka was engaged in poetry, storytelling, writing for children, and occasionally translating, mostly poetry, from Russian, Slovenian, Bulgarian and French.

Desanka's poetry often explores the themes of love, suffering, the passage of time, but also patriotic feelings, and her works reflect deep emotionality and introspection, while at the same time showing the subtle beauty of words. "Prayer for love", "There is a poem", "Tremble", "Bloody fairy tale", are just some of the most frequently spoken verses of Desanka Maksimović, which even today, 125 years after the birth of the famous poetess, have their devotees and loyal readers. Apart from poetry, Desanka Maksimović was also the author of several prose works, and her work "Manuscript of Father Sava" is a deeply emotional work that explores the theme of faith and moral dilemmas.

Desanka Maksimović received a large number of literary awards, among them Vuk (1974), Njegoš (1984), AVNOJ (AFCNLY) Award (1970), Seventh of July Award (1964), Zmaj Award (1958 and 1973), etc. She was also chosen for an honorary citizen of Valjevo, where a monument was erected to her during her lifetime, which was unveiled on October 27, 1990.

She died in Belgrade on February 11, 1993.

Mića Popović
Miodrag Mića Popović (Loznica, June 12, 1923 – Belgrade, December 22, 1996) was a Serbian painter and art critic. He was also involved in writing as well as film directing. He completed his elementary and secondary education in Belgrade. He participated in the final battles of the Second World War on the territory of Yugoslavia, and after demobilization, he enrolled the Academy of Fine Arts in the class of Professor Ivan Tabaković in 1946. With a group of like-minded colleagues, he left the Academy and went to Zadar in 1947, where they formed the first artistic commune in post-war Yugoslavia.

In terms of painting, he went through several phases, the most famous of which are "art informel" and "scene painting". The central place of Mića Popović's entire painting oeuvre, viewed retrospectively, in all phases, was the fateful feeling of the tragedy of existence – both individual and collective.

During his life, he had more than 20 solo exhibitions in Yugoslavia and Europe. He published dozens of essays, studies and reviews, directed seven feature films and wrote five screenplays. As a screenwriter and costume designer, he participated in ten plays in Belgrade theatres and theaters in Niš and Skopje.

He was elected a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1978, and a regular member in 1985. He died in Belgrade in 1996, leaving behind a memorial gallery, a legacy in Loznica.

Sima Lozanić
In 2023, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts celebrates the Year of Academician Sima Lozanić (Belgrade, March 8, 1847 – Belgrade, July 7, 1935), one of our most important chemists, a distinguished politician and diplomat. He was a Professor and Rector of The Higher School, the first Rector in the history of the University of Belgrade, President of the Serbian Royal Academy, MP in London, Minister of National Economy and Foreign Affairs.

He completed his law studies at The Higher School in Belgrade (1868), and then spent the next four years studying chemistry in Zurich and Berlin. As a Professor at The Higher School and University in Belgrade, he opened Serbia's path to modern chemistry by introducing classes in several subjects of chemical sciences, he wrote programs and textbooks for them based on the most modern knowledge of science at the time. Through teaching programs, textbooks and other activities, he founded modern chemical terminology in Serbian science. When the University of Belgrade was founded in 1905, he was among the first eight full professors who then selected other university teachers.

During his scientific career, he published more than two hundred scientific publications. He is one of the founders of the Faculty of Agriculture, and as a prominent member of the then scientific community, he participated in the work of a large number of domestic and international scientific societies. His contribution to the discovery of Serbia's natural resources is also of great importance. In addition to intensive and fruitful scientific work, he was also involved in the analysis of soil, ores and minerals, as well as mineral and drinking water.

As a chemist, he left a permanent mark on our and world science, and with his pedagogical and political work, he made an immeasurable contribution to the development of Serbian education, economy and industry.

Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligorić (Belgrade, February 2, 1923 – Belgrade, August 14, 2012) Serbian chess grandmaster, journalist and publicist, started playing chess relatively late, at the age of 13. Just two years later, in 1938, he won the competition of the Belgrade Chess Club. Young Gligorić spent the war in the partisans, and after demobilization he returned to his pre-war love – chess, as an organizer of chess competitions. Working as a journalist, he devoted himself intensively to the revival of the chess organization in post-war Yugoslavia.

He played most of his career in CC Partizan, but due to circumstances he was one of the founders of the Red Star Sports Association. He won his first tournament at the championship of Yugoslavia, in 1947 and in the same year he won his first international tournament in Warsaw. He received the title of grandmaster in 1951. For the next 20 years, he was among the world's best chess players and a candidate for world champion. Thanks to him, Yugoslavia was considered the second chess superpower in the world, after the USSR. He won numerous international tournaments, the most important of which were the tournament in Warsaw (1947), Hastings (1951, 1956, 1959, 1961), Mar del Plata (1953), Stockholm (1954), Belgrade (1964) and Manila (1968), as well as the tournament in Lone Pine (1972 and 1979). Three times at international tournaments, he qualified for candidate matches in the world championship cycle. In the period from 1950 to 1982, he represented Yugoslavia 15 times at the Olympics, winning 12 medals (one gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze). He was a 12-time winner of first place at the championship of Yugoslavia.

Gligorić is also known for his journalistic career. He was a regular correspondent for Chess Review and Chess Life, and wrote a number of books on chess. The award-winning short documentary "Gligorić's Mar del Plata – The King's Indian Variant" was filmed about him. He died in Belgrade on August 14, 2012 at the age of 89.

Desanka Maksimović
Desanka Maksimović (Rabrovica, cerca de Valjevo, 16 de mayo de 1898 - Belgrado, 11 de febrero de 1993) fue una destacada poeta, prosista y ensayista serbia, cuya obra abarca diversos temas, con una expresividad lírica y emocional en común.

Poeta, profesora de literatura y miembro de la Academia Serbia de Ciencias y Artes, Desanka se dedicó a la poesía, la narración, la escritura infantil y, ocasionalmente, a la traducción, principalmente poesía, del ruso, esloveno, búlgaro y francés.

La poesía de Desanka a menudo explora los temas del amor, el sufrimiento, el paso del tiempo, pero también los sentimientos patrióticos, y sus obras reflejan una profunda emotividad e introspección, a la vez que muestran la sutil belleza de las palabras. «Oración de amor», «Hay un poema», «Temblar», «Cuento de hadas sangriento» son solo algunos de los versos más leídos de Desanka Maksimović, que incluso hoy, 125 años después del nacimiento de la famosa poetisa, cuentan con devotos y fieles lectores. Además de poesía, Desanka Maksimović también fue autora de varias obras en prosa, y su obra «Manuscrito del Padre Sava» es una obra profundamente emotiva que explora el tema de la fe y los dilemas morales. Desanka Maksimović recibió numerosos premios literarios, entre ellos el Vuk (1974), el Njegoš (1984), el Premio AVNOJ (AFCNLY) (1970), el Premio Siete de Julio (1964) y el Premio Zmaj (1958 y 1973), entre otros. También fue nombrada ciudadana honoraria de Valjevo, donde se le erigió un monumento en vida, inaugurado el 27 de octubre de 1990.

Falleció en Belgrado el 11 de febrero de 1993.

Mića Popović
Miodrag Mića Popović (Loznica, 12 de junio de 1923 - Belgrado, 22 de diciembre de 1996) fue un pintor y crítico de arte serbio. También se dedicó a la escritura y a la dirección cinematográfica. Completó sus estudios primarios y secundarios en Belgrado. Participó en las últimas batallas de la Segunda Guerra Mundial en Yugoslavia y, tras su desmovilización, se matriculó en la Academia de Bellas Artes, en la clase del profesor Ivan Tabaković, en 1946. Junto con un grupo de colegas afines, dejó la Academia y se trasladó a Zadar en 1947, donde formaron la primera comunidad artística de la Yugoslavia de posguerra.

En cuanto a la pintura, atravesó varias etapas, siendo las más famosas el informalismo y la pintura de escena. El eje central de toda la obra pictórica de Mića Popović, vista retrospectivamente en todas sus etapas, fue el sentimiento fatídico de la tragedia de la existencia, tanto individual como colectiva.

A lo largo de su vida, realizó más de 20 exposiciones individuales en Yugoslavia y Europa. Publicó decenas de ensayos, estudios y reseñas, dirigió siete largometrajes y escribió cinco guiones. Como guionista y diseñador de vestuario, participó en diez obras de teatro en teatros de Belgrado y de Niš y Skopje. Fue elegido miembro correspondiente de la Academia Serbia de Ciencias y Artes en 1978 y miembro regular en 1985. Falleció en Belgrado en 1996, dejando una galería conmemorativa, un legado en Loznica.