Mihailo Gavrilovic
Encyclopedia
Aleksinac
Aleksinac is a town which is a center of Aleksinac Municipality, located in the Nišava District of Serbia. According to 2011 census, the town has a population of 16,420 inhabitants, while the municipality has 51,462.-Name:...
, May 8, 1868 - London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, November 1, 1924) was a prominent Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
historian and diplomat.
Scholary career
Gavrilović researched nineteenth-century Serbian history and wrote extensively on the main political figures of the time (i.e. Miloš Obrenović), Franco-Serbian relations during the Napoleonic eraNapoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...
and the Serbian revolution
Serbian revolution
Serbian revolution or Revolutionary Serbia refers to the national and social revolution of the Serbian people taking place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman province into a constitutional monarchy and a modern nation-state...
(1804–1813) and Serbo-British relations in the 1840s and 1850s, as well as on international relations concerning the Serbian question. His three volume biography of Prince Miloš Obrenović is still the best in Serbian historiography. The fourth volume, almost finished, was lost during the painful retreat of the Serbian Army through Albania in the First World War (1915–1916), the epic ”Albanian Golgotha“.
Gavrilović studied history at the Velika škola, the institution that was later to become the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
. He graduated in 1891, and defended his thesis on medieval history at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
-Sorbonne in 1899. During his years in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(1893–1900) Gavrilović prepared a huge volume of French documents concerning the First Serbian Uprising
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising was the first stage of the Serbian Revolution , the successful wars of independence that lasted for 9 years and approximately 9 months , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and...
, under Karađorđe (1804–1813), that was published in the French language in a single volume in 1904 (Ispisi iz pariskih arhiva. Građa za istoriju srpskog ustanka), in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
by the Serbian Royal Academy. After returning to Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Gavrilović was appointed Director of the Archives of Serbia (1900–1903) and contributed greatly to its organization as a modern archival institution.
Using Austrian and Russian sources as well, Gavrilović, renowned for his methodical analysis and wider perspective on general historical developments, was considered the leading Serbian expert for diplomatic history. Gavrilović was elected a member of the Serbian Royal Academy in 1914.
Diplomatic career
Gavrilović was Serbian envoy to CetinjeCetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
(1910–1914), and was reassigned in 1914 as Serbian Envoy to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. During his stay in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, he searched the archives of the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, collecting documents concerning Serbian history. In 1917, while the Serbian government-in-exile was located at Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
(1916–1918), Gavrilović was appointed Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, and, later on, served as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs (March 10 to November 3, 1918). After the Yugoslav unification in December 1918, Gavrilović was appointed as Envoy of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. As a diplomat Gavrilović was equally successful as in his scholarly pursuits, developing an important network of ties with officials in states where he represented the Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
and its successor, The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1919–1924).
Selected works
- Étude sur le traité de Paris de 1259, entre Louis IX, roi de France, et Henri III, roi d’Angleterre, Librairie Émile Bouillon, Paris 1899
- Ispisi iz pariskih arhiva (Građa za istoriju srpskog ustanka), Serbian Royal Academy, Beograd 1904.
- Miloš Obrenović, vol. I-III, [vol. I (1813–1820), vol. II (1821–1826), vol. 3 (1827–1835)], Nova štamparija Davidović, Izdanje Zadužbine I. M. Kolarca, Beograd, 1908-1912 (reprinted by Slovo Ljubve, Beograd 1978 and 1992), 579+758+661 pp.
- Iz nove srpske istorije, Srpska književna zadruga, Beograd 1926, 209 p. (Introduction by Slobodan Jovanović)