Milan Rastislav Stefanik was an astronomer, diplomat, and politician from Slovakia. He was also a philosopher. During his short life, he made a big difference in both astronomy and politics. While he was in Prague studying astronomy and philosophy, he became interested in politics. He got to know people like Tomá Garrigue Masaryk and Vavro robár through his political work. These men made Stefanik want to unite the Czechs and Slovaks into one independent country, free from Austria-rule. Hungary’s This made him want to join the French military, where he was an aviator for four years. He then spent the rest of his life working to make Czechoslovakia a reality. When he was successful, the Czechoslovak government made him the country’s first Minister of War. His work to bring the Czechs and Slovaks together was hurt by the conspiracy that grew up after he died in a plane crash. Even though this crash changed how the Slovaks felt about and treated the Czechs, Stefanik’s diplomatic work will always be remembered for its importance. He will always be remembered as one of the people who started the Czechoslovakian republic and freed his people from the rule of the empire.
Early years and childhood
Milan Rastislav Stefanik was born on July 21, 1880, in Kosariska, which is now a part of Slovakia but was then part of Austria-Hungary. His parents, Pavol and Albertina, had 13 kids. He was one of them. Two of his siblings died when they were still young.
His father, Pavol, was a pastor at a Lutheran church in the area. He loved his country, Slovakia, and taught his children to do the same.
Milan had trouble at school because of what he thought. Hungarian schools were biased against Slovaks, and the law said that all-Slovak schools couldn’t be made. During his childhood, he had to change schools more than once. In 1890, he started going to the Evangelical Lyceum in Bratislava, which was his first school.
He went to Bratislava’s lyceum for three years. In 1893, he moved to Sopron and went to school there. In 1898, he got his high school diploma from a school in Szarvas. He moved to Prague and started studying construction engineering in the same year.
He moved to Charles University in 1900. Here, he learned about physics, astronomy, philosophy, and math. He also got to know some of the most well-known professors in these fields.
In 1904, when he got his Ph.D. in Philosophy, he finished his schooling. He also learned a lot about astronomy and became very interested in it.
Milan Rastislav’s Career
Milan Rastislav Stefanik’s time as a student in Prague had a big impact on how his career turned out. He wrote political works about the Slovaks’ fight for freedom. Because of his professor, he came to think that Czechs and Slovaks could live together in peace.
He got his first job in Astronomy because one of his professors thought he would be good at it. The job was in Paris, France, at the Observatoire de Paris-Meudon.
Stefanik did a great job in his role, even though he only knew a few words of French. Pierre Janssen, who ran the observatory and helped start the field of Astrophysics, saw his potential and guided him throughout his career.
The Observatoire de Paris-Meudon was the most prestigious astronomy center in the world, so Janssen’s recommendation was very important.
In 1905, Stefanik went up Mount Blanc for the first time. Here, he made plans to study Mars and the moon. In the same year, he went to Spain as part of a group to study a solar eclipse.
From 1906 to 1908, Stefanik was one of the two people in charge of the Mount Blanc observatories. In 1907, while he was co-director at Mont Blanc, his teacher Pierre Janssen died. He quit his job and went to work for the government of France.
From 1908 to 1911, he worked as a mix of an academic and a diplomat. He was sent to countries all over the world to study sun eclipses and improve diplomatic ties. He worked in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Ecuador, Brazil, Tonga, Panama, Russia, and Tahiti, among other places.
He built an Observatory while he was living in Tahiti. People say that his other job was to use the observatory to keep an eye on what the German military was doing.
At the start of World War I, he joined the French army because he was sure that if Austria-Hungary lost, the Czechs and Slovaks would be able to be on their own. He signed up to be trained as a pilot.
As a member of the MFS 99 squadron, he flew more than 30 missions. He lived through the war, and in 1915 he went back to Paris.
In 1916, he started the Czechoslovak National Council with Tomá Masaryk and Edvard Bene. This was the group in charge of running the growing Czechoslovak resistance, which led to the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918.
In 1916, he went to Russia to set up armies of soldiers. The next year, he kept up his work in the United States, France, and Italy. He became Czechoslovakia’s first Minister of War because of how well he worked with other people.
Works of note
The most important thing he did was work as a diplomat. He was an important part of making Czechoslovakia an independent country by helping to start the Czechoslovak National Council.
During the short time, he was Minister of War, he also helped the young country with its foreign policy. Stefanik’s job was to make sure that things went well when troops were in a foreign land.
Awards & Achievements
In 1917, the French Legion of Honor made him a grand officer.
Personal History and Legacies
Milan Rastislav Stefanik died in a terrible way on May 4, 1919, when his plane crashed. Two Italian officers also died in the crash. Czechs and Slovaks had a hard time getting along because of the conspiracy about what caused the crash.
In 1928, a huge tomb was built on the hill of Bradlo in Brezová pod Bradlom to honor him.
In honor of his work as a pilot, the M.R. Stefanik airport in Bratislava is named after him.
Estimated Net worth
Milan is one of the wealthiest politicians and is on the list of the most popular ones. Based on what we found on Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Milan Rastislav Stefanik has a net worth of about $1.5 million.
Trivia
Stefanik was the first person who was taken to the hospital by plane during a military mission.