Milan Rastislav Štefánik - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Milan Rastislav Štefánik ' onMouseout='HidePop("90650")' href="/topics/Košariská">Košariská

Košariská

Košariská is a village and municipality in Myjava District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia.- Geography :The municipality lies at an altitude of 249 metres and covers an area of 11.531 km². It has a population of about 403 people....

(Kosaras), Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

– May 4, 1919 in Ivanka pri Dunaji

Ivanka pri Dunaji

Ivanka pri Dunaji is a village and municipality in western Slovakia in Senec District in the Bratislava Region.-History:In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1209....

, Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

) was a Slovak

Slovaks

The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...

politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

, and astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

. During World War I, he was General of the French Army

French Army

The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...

, at the same time the Czechoslovak Minister of War, one of the leading members of the Czechoslovak National Council (i.e. resistance government), and he contributed decisively to the cause of Czechoslovak

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

sovereignty. (The status of Czech

Czech people

Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...

- and Slovak-populated territories, among others, was in question until shortly before the disintegration of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

in 1918.)

Štefánik's personal motto was: To Believe, To Love and To Work (Veriť, milovať, pracovať).

Studies

Štefánik was born in Košariská, Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

, on July 21, 1880. He had 12 brothers and sisters (2 of which died at a young age). His father was a local Protestant Lutheran pastor

Pastor

The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

called Pavol Štefánik and his mother's name was Albertína Jurenková. As a strong Slovak patriot, he had problems at Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

schools (Slovak ones were prohibited due to active Magyarization

Magyarization

Magyarization is a kind of assimilation or acculturation, a process by which non-Magyar elements came to adopt Magyar culture and language due to social pressure .Defiance or appeals to the Nationalities Law, met...

) and had to change high schools several times (Pressburg, Sopron

Sopron

In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...

, Szarvas

Szarvas

----Szarvas is a town in Békés county in southeastern Hungary. The Hungarian placename Szarvas means 'deer' in English.- History :...

).

In 1898, he began studying construction engineering in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

. In 1900 he moved to the Charles University where he attended lectures in astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

, optics

Optics

Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...

, mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

and philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

. In the 1902 summer semester he was at university in Zürich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

. The Prague

Prague

years had a great impact on Štefánik, because he met many important personalities there: the philosophy lectures were taught by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (the future first president of Czechoslovakia), who inspired Štefánik with the idea of cooperation of the Czechs and the Slovaks. Furthermore, Štefánik very actively participated in the work of the Slovak student association Detvan (and within Detvan of the so-called Hlasists group) where he became acquainted with Vavro Šrobár. His studies were largely financed by Czech associations including Českoslovanská jednota (Czechoslavic Unity) and Radhošť - he himself could not afford them. In Prague, he wrote political and artistic texts, in which he tried to inform the Czechs of the disastrous situation of the Slovaks

Slovaks

at that time. He graduated in 1904 with a doctor’s degree in philosophy and with thorough knowledge of astronomy (he finished his studies with a thesis in astronomy). He wrote his thesis about a star which was discovered in the
Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia (constellation)

Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopea was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today...

constellation in 1572

SN 1572

SN 1572 , "B Cassiopeiae" , or 3C 10 was a supernova of Type Ia in the constellation Cassiopeia, one of about eight supernovae visible to the naked eye in historical records...

France, Tahiti and other countries

In 1904, he went to 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...

to find a job in astronomy with the recommendation of a Czech professor who was known in Paris. Initially, he had no money and no command of French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, but then he got a job at the famous Observatoire de Paris-Meudon

Paris Observatory

The Paris Observatory is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world...

, whose director, Pierre Janssen (one of the co-founders of astrophysics

Astrophysics

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...

), saw Štefánik’s talent. Štefánik owed to Janssen and Camille Flammarion

Camille Flammarion

Nicolas Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction novels, and several works about Spiritism and related topics. He also published the magazine...

his social

Social

The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...

, political and scientific career. The observatory was the most important centre for astronomy at this time which meant a huge prestige in his job.

Between 20 June and 4 July in 1905, Štefánik climbed Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...

(later he climbed it several times) in order to observe the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

and Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

from it. Then he took part in an official French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

expedition which observed and recorded a whole eclipse of the Sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

in Alcossebre

Alcossebre

Alcossebre is a seaside village in the Valencian Community located on the Costa del Azahar along the eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain in the province of Castelló...

in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. Thereby he established his own recognition in the French scientific society. He worked with Gaston Millochau

Gaston Millochau

Gaston Millochau was a French astronomer.From 1899 until 1903 he observed Mars at the Meudon Observatory and reported some details visible on its surface. In contrast to other observers at that time he did not see any canal-like features.A crater on Mars was named in his honor.-External links:*...

who was a member of the Académie Française

Académie française

L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...

, so some of its members read from his work. -His studies and the results of his observations were published in reports to the Académie Française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...

and he received several awards for them - Later he was invited to an international astronomer conference in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

which was interested in research of the Sun. Between 1906 and 1908, he was co-director of Mont Blanc observatories company.

At the end of 1907, however, Pierre Janssen died and Štefánik had to change his job. Since 1908, he had been charged by the French authorities with astronomic and meteorological observation

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

s (mainly observations of sun eclipses) and political tasks in various countries all over the world including (Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, Turkistan

Türkistan

*Türkistan is the local name for Turkestan, a region of Central Asia.*Türkistan, Kazakhstan is a historic city and place of pilgrimage in southern Kazakhstan...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, the USA, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Tahiti

Tahiti

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...

, Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

and Tonga

Tonga

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

). In Tahiti, he also built an observatory and a meteorological stations network. Between these voyages he regularly returned home to Košariská (the last time in 1913 for his father’s funeral). When he was in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

(especially in Galapagos Islands

Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...

in Ecuador), he had an opportunity to show his diplomatic skills for the first time.

Štefánik dealt with astrophysics

Astrophysics

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...

, solar physics

Solar physics

For the physics journal, see Solar Physics Solar physics is the study of our Sun. It is a branch of astrophysics that specializes in exploiting and explaining the detailed measurements that are possible only for our closest star...

and became well-known for his spectral analysis

Spectral analysis

Spectral analysis or Spectrum analysis may refer to:* Spectrum analysis in chemistry and physics, a method of analyzing the chemical properties of matter from bands in their visible spectrum...

of the sun's corona

Corona

A corona is a type of plasma "atmosphere" of the Sun or other celestial body, extending millions of kilometers into space, most easily seen during a total solar eclipse, but also observable in a coronagraph...

. He was involved in perfecting spectrography and has been considered a predecessor of Bernard Lyot

Bernard Lyot

Bernard Ferdinand Lyot was a French astronomer.His interest in astronomy started in 1914. He soon acquired a telescope and soon upgraded to a . From graduation in 1918 until 1929, he worked as a demonstrator at the Ecole Polytechnique...

. He also attempted to construct a machine for color photography and cinematography and had his design patented in 1911.

In addition to his scientific missions overseas, he also performed diplomatic tasks. He established contacts and friendship with leading scientific, artist

Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

ic, political, diplomatic and business personalities

Businessperson

A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...

. He participated in the establishment of business enterprises in France and other countries. His friends were Henri Poincaré

Henri Poincaré

Jules Henri Poincaré was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and a philosopher of science...

physicist, count Eugéne Aymar de la Baume, Joseph Vallot (who was the richest man in France), Gustave Eiffel

Gustave Eiffel

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French structural engineer from the École Centrale Paris, an architect, an entrepreneur and a specialist of metallic structures...

architect, prince Roland Bonaparte

Roland Bonaparte

Roland Bonaparte, 6th Prince of Canino and Musignano was a French prince and president of the Société de Géographie from 1910 until his death.-Biography:...

, Camille Chautemps

Camille Chautemps

Camille Chautemps was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic, three times President of the Council .-Career:Described as "intellectually bereft", Chautemps nevertheless entered politics and became Mayor of Tours in 1912, and a Radical deputy in 1919...

Prime-Minister, a French big entrepreneur called Devousoud from Chamonix

Chamonix

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...

, Simon Newcomb

Simon Newcomb

Simon Newcomb was a Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician. Though he had little conventional schooling, he made important contributions to timekeeping as well as writing on economics and statistics and authoring a science fiction novel.-Early life:Simon Newcomb was born in the town of...

American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

astronomer and admiral,
David Jayne Hill

David Jayne Hill

David Jayne Hill was an American diplomat and historian.Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, he was educated at Bucknell University from which he graduated in 1874. He served as professor of rhetoric in the institution from 1877 to 1879 and was for the eight years following its president. From 1888 to...

American diplomat. In 1912, he received French citizenship, recognition and access to the French elite. In 1914, he was made a Grand Officier of the Legion of Honour. At the same time, however, he had some personal problems and a serious stomach

Stomach

The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...

illness (which did not get better even after a medical operation). Moreover, World War I started in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

World War I and struggle for independence

Štefánik believed that the defeat of Austria-Hungary and Imperial Germany, after the outbreak of the First World War, would offer the opportunity for the Slovaks and Czechs to gain independence from Austria-Hungary. Therefore he enlisted in the French army and trained to become an aviator

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

. He was sent as a pilot 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...

in May 1915 and flew a total of 30 missions over enemy territory. The Serbian campaign was unsuccessful, but French aviator Louis Paulhan

Louis Paulhan

Isidore Auguste Marie Louis Paulhan, known as Louis Paulhan, was a pioneering French aviator who in 1910 flew "Le Canard", the world's first seaplane, designed by Henri Fabre....

is credited with the world's first "medevac" when he flew the seriously ill Milan Stefanik to safety.

He returned to Paris at the end of 1915 where he became acquainted with Edvard Beneš

Edvard Beneš

Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...

and renewed his association with his former professor Tomáš Masaryk. In 1916, these three men founded the Czechoslovak National Council (the supreme body – government - of Czecho-Slovak resistance abroad leading to the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918). After 1917, he became the vice-president of the council. Thanks to his diplomatic skills, Štefánik helped Masaryk and Beneš to meet and obtain the support of some of the most important personalities of the Triple Entente

Triple Entente

The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....

. He for example organized Masaryk’s meeting with the French prime minister Aristide Briand

Aristide Briand

Aristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life :...

.

In 1916, Štefánik and the Czecho-Slovak resistance started to create Czechoslovak troops

Czechoslovak Legions

The Czechoslovak Legions were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I...

(legions) that would fight against Austria-Hungary and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. For this purpose, Štefánik (as the Czechoslovak Minister of War and as a French General) went to Russia and then (in February 1917) to the USA. He also organized legions in France and Italy. It was largely due to his personal diplomatic skills and contacts that the Allies (Entente)

Allies of World War I

The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

recognized the Czechoslovak National Council as a government-de-facto and the Czechoslovak troops

Czechoslovak Legions

The Czechoslovak Legions were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I...

as allied forces in the summer and autumn 1918. In May 1918, Štefánik went to Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

in Russia, where he was supposed to make the Czechoslovak legions there renew the second, i. e. Eastern, front (because Russia had switched the sides and signed peace

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...

with Germany and Austria-Hungary in March 1918, and Czechoslovak legions very successfully rebelled against a subsequent Russian order to disarm, thus showing their abilities to the Allies). But in Russia, Štefánik saw that this was not possible anymore.

In January 1919, when the war ended, Štefánik went from Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

to France and Italy, where he organized the retreat of Czechoslovak troops from Siberia in March in Paris. In addition, his diplomatic skills were needed in order to solve quarrels between the French and Italy missions in Czechoslovakia. In April, he went from Paris to 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...

to negotiate at the Italian Ministry of War, where he also met his fiancée Juliana Benzoni for the last time. Then he went to the main Italian military base in Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, where he agreed with General Armando Diaz

Armando Diaz

Armando Diaz, 1st Duca della Vittoria was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy.Born in Naples, Diaz began his military career as a student at the Military Academy of Turin, where he became an artillery officer. He was a colonel commanding the 93rd infantry during the Italo-Turkish War, and...

on the dissolution of the Italian military mission in Czechoslovakia. At the same time, severe quarrels arose between Štefánik and Beneš

Beneš

Beneš or Benes may refer to:people:* Alan Benes , American Major League Baseball pitcher.* Andy Benes , American Major League Baseball pitcher....

(but also Masaryk), mainly around the position of Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

within Czechoslovakia. In April, for example, Beneš wrote to a county president in Slovakia: "I had a conflict with Štefánik. . . Everything is over between us. I mean absolutely (over). But keep it totally secret...".

Death

Finally, Štefánik wanted to return home to see his family. He decided to fly from Campoformido

Campoformido

Campoformido is a town and comune in the province of Udine, in north-eastern Italy, notable for the Treaty of Campo Formio.The village of Rivolto , in the comune of Codroipo, hosts the Italian Air Force acrobatic flight squadron, the Frecce Tricolori....

by Udine

Udine

Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...

in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

and to use an Italian military plane, a Caproni 450

Caproni

thumb|right|300px|[[Caproni Ca.316]] seaplane at its moorings.Caproni was an Italian aircraft manufacturer founded in 1908 by Giovanni Battista "Gianni" Caproni....

. On May 4, 1919 around 11am, his plane tried to land near Bratislava

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

(which was a military conflict area between the First Republic of Czechoslovakia and the Hungarian Soviet Republic

Hungarian Soviet Republic

The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....

at that time), but crashed near Ivanka pri Dunaji. Štefánik died along with two Italian officers. The reason for the plane crash is disputed. The official explanation at that time was that the airplane crashed due to bad weather accidentally. "Just at that time Šrobár and all his government left Bratislava to Skalica

Skalica

Skalica is the largest city in Skalica District in western Slovakia in the Záhorie region. Located near the Czech border, Skalica has a population of 14,963 .-History:...

to plant trees as a memorial of the founding of the new Czechoslovak Republic

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. It is also unlikely that his plane was shot down by Hungarian communists

Hungarian Communist Party

The Communist Party of Hungary , renamed Hungarian Communist Party in 1945, was founded on November 24, 1918, and was in power in Hungary briefly from March to August 1919 under Béla Kun and the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The communist government was overthrown by the Romanian Army and driven...

standing on the middle of the Franz Joseph bridge

Starý most (Bratislava)

Starý most is the oldest still-standing bridge over the river Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia. The 460 meter long bridge includes a wooden pathway for pedestrians, a two-lane road and railway track, connecting unspoiled historic Bratislava with Petržalka. The bridge was closed for all traffic since...

of Bratislava. Štefánik’s sudden death, in combination with his preceding quarrels with Beneš, contributed to Slovak suspicion towards the Czechs during the First Republic of Czechoslovakia.

Štefánik's tomb was built in 1927-28 on the Bradlo hill in Brezová pod Bradlom

Brezová pod Bradlom

Brezová pod Bradlom is a town in the Myjava District, Trenčín Region, western Slovakia, at the western foothills of the Little Carpathians, in the Záhorie region.-History:...

. The monumental yet austere memorial was designed by Dušan Jurkovič

Dušan Jurkovic

Dušan Jurkovič was a Slovak architect, ethnographer and artist. One of the best-known promoters of Slovak art in 20th century Czechoslovakia, he is remembered mostly due to his projects of numerous World War I cemeteries in Galicia. Jurkovič repeatedly stressed: The work of art is rooted in the time...

Studies

France, Tahiti and other countries

World War I and struggle for independence

Death

See also