Milan Rastislav Štefánik

Donate now

EARLY LIFE

Brigade general Dr. Milan Rastislav Štefánik is considered one of the most important and influential people in the history of the Slovak nation. During his short, but very productive life, he became a respected scientist-astronomer, diplomat, politician, military leader and organizer of Czechoslovak legions in France, Russia and Italy. Along with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Edvard Beneš, he co-founded the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918.

HE WAS RENOWNED FOR HIS IRON WILL AND DEDICATION. HIS PERSONAL MOTTO WAS: "TO BELIEVE, TO LOVE, TO WORK"

Born in the small village Košariská , in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire (now the Slovak Republic), he was influenced by revolutionary history of the resistance against the Empire. His father was a local Lutheran pastor. After attending schools in Samorin, Bratislava, Sopron and Szarvas (now Hungary), he studied astronomy at Karl Ferdinand University (Charles University) in Prague and spent one semester in Zurich as well.

Living in Prague had a great impact on young Štefánik – he became inspired by the idea of co-operation between the Czechs and the Slovaks. He participated in the Slovak student association Detvan, and was inspired by philosophy lectures of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who later became the first president of the First Czechoslovak Republic.

Albertina Štefániková (nee Jurenková), mother

Štefánik’s family

Pavel Štefánik, father

Young Štefánik

Elementary school at Košariská

Young Štefánik

Church School in Šamorín, Slovak Republic

Lutheran vicarage in Košariská, Slovak Republic

Štefánik’s family

Štefánik’s dissertation

Austria-Hungary passport

Štefánik with members of the Society of Evangelical Academics “Jeronym” in Prague, 1898-1900

Members of student association Detvan

Štefánik with friends in Paris, from the left Štefánik, Bohumil Kafka, Ludvig Strimpl

Štefánik at the time of his study stay in Zürich, 1902

Štefánik after graduation

SCIENTIST

Štefánik graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in 1904. With recommendation from his professor, he went to Meudon, Paris and joined the Janssen Observatory, the most important center for astronomy at the time. He worked in astrophysics and solar physics and became well known for his spectral analysis of the sun’s corona. Between 1905 and 1906, he led six astronomical expeditions at Mt. Blanc, France. Later, he studied the sun’s corona in Alcosebre (Spain), Turkestan, Ura Tjube (Tajikistan) and Brazil. Between 1905 and 1912, he published 12 scientific papers and received several awards from the French astronomical society for his scientific work. Unfortunately, in 1907 Jules Janssen died, the Mt. Blanc observatory was closed down, and Štefánik lost his job. One of his goals was to build his own observatory. He built a temporary observatory in Tahiti and improved one in Quito (Ecuador), along with the establishing a network of regular meteorological stations in both locations.

On the way to Mt. Blanc observatory

Štefánik resting in the front, Mt. Blanc

Štefánik in the middle, Mt. Blanc

Crossing the dangerous crevasse

Massive seracs, Mt. Blanc

Štefánik working at Mt. Blanc observatory

Štefánik presenting his work

Working at the Meudon Laboratory (left, Štefánik, right, Milloschau)

Solar eclipse observation, Meudon, Paris

Observatory in Meudon, Paris

Štefánik’s scientific calculations

Solar eclipse observation, Meudon, Paris

Observatory in Meudon, Paris

Solar eclipse observation, Paris

Observation of the ring solar eclipse at Cormeilles in Paris

Observation of the ring solar eclipse at Cormeilles near Paris

Štefánik during the work in the fortress of Cormeilles near Paris, 1912

Štefánik at observatory in Tahiti

ŠTEFÁNIK’S PHOTOS FROM HIS SCIENTIFIC AND DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

In 1908, he was appointed by the French authorities to oversee astronomical, meteorological observations and diplomatic tasks in various countries all over the world (Algeria, Morocco, Turkistan, Russia, India, the United States, Panama, Brazil, Ecuador, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, and Tonga). On these missions, he was able to establish contacts and friendships with leading scientific, artistic, political, diplomatic and business people.

His passion was photography as well.

Štefánik’s camera

Turkestan, architecture, 1907

Man from Tahiti, 1910-11

Štefánik in Tahiti, 1910-11

Hunting in North Africa

Top of the cable car in Mont Blanc Massif, Chamonix, 1907

View of the roofs in Tunis town, 1909

Harbour in Malta

Algiers, 1909

Historic architecture in Cairo

Turkestan, man in traditional dress, 1907

Men in traditional dresses, Tunis, 1909

Monasterio del Escorial, a historical residence of the King of Spain, 1905

Visit to Samarkand (Štefánik is on the right)

WORLD WAR I

In 1912, Štefánik obtained French citizenship, and when World War I broke out in 1914, he joined the French army and trained to become an aviator. He flew for the 10th Army and was later transferred to MFS 99 Squadron on the Serbian Front. Upon becoming seriously ill, he was evacuated from Serbia in the autumn of 1915 by the French aviator Louis Paulhan, in what is regarded as the first medical transport (medevac) by air.

Štefánik as an aviator

Štefánik as corporal in Chartres, France 1915

Štefánik as a captain of the French Air Force, October 1916

Štefánik receiving military award

From left to right:

Ordre National de la Légion d´Honeur – Chevalier (National Order of the Legion of Honor - Knight) 1914 France
Croix de Guerre avec Palme de bronze (War cross with bronze palm) 1915 France
Miloš Obilič gold medal For boldness 1915 Serbia
L´Insigne des Bléssés de Guerre (The Badge of injuried people of war) 1915 France

Štefánik as a second lieutenant and a lieutenant

From left to right:

Орден Святого Владимира 4-я степень с мечами (Order of St. Vladimir 4th Degree with Swords) 1917 Russia
Ordre National de la Légion d´Honeur – Officier (National Order of the Legion of Honor - Officer) 1917 France
Ordine di S. Maurizio e Lazzaro (Order of St. Maurice and Lazarus) 1917 Italy
La Crocce al Merito di Guerra (The Cross of Merit of War) 1918 Italy

General Štefánik

From left to right:

Medal of Jan Žižka from Trocnov For Freedom II. degree 1918 Czechoslovakia
La Médaille de Honneur des Affaires Étrangéres avec Glaives (The Medal of Honor of Foreign Affairs with swords) 1918 France
Ordre National de la Légion d´Honneur – Commandeur (National Order of the Legion of Honor - Commander) 1919 France

Portraits of Štefánik in military uniform

CZECHO-SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL

Štefánik believed that defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and of Imperial Germany would offer an opportunity for the Slovaks and the Czechs to gain independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the war. Therefore, at the end of 1915, he returned to Paris to meet with Edvard Beneš and his former professor, Masaryk. In 1916, they founded the Czecho-Slovak National Council, which eventually led to the government of Czecho-Slovak resistance abroad and to the creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918. As the Vice President of the Council, Štefánik devoted much of his effort to diplomacy in the United States, France, Italy and Russia, and to establishing Czechoslovak legions and their recognition by Allied powers.

The Pittsburgh Agreement signed on May 31, 1918, is a key document that led to the creation of the 1st Czechoslovak Republic. It was a political agreement between the Slovak and Czech compatriot organizations in the US and the future Czech-Slovak President, Tomáš G. Masaryk, to bring together both nations in an independent democratic state. This treaty guaranteed Slovaks its own administration, assembly, courts and Slovak as an official language in schools, offices and public life.

The Washington Declaration (Declaration of Independence of the Czechoslovak Nation by Its Provisional Government) was drafted in Washington, D. C. and published by Czechoslovakia's Paris-based Provisional Government on October 18, 1918.

Tomáš Garrique Masaryk

Milan Rastislav Štefánik

Edvard Beneš

Štefánik (center) with a group of representatives of Slovak and Czech expatriate organizations in Washington; July 1, 1917

Brigade general Štefánik (center) with Czech painter L. Strimpl (left) and secretary of the ČSNR Dr. I. Markovich in Paris 1918

Štefánik in Italy

Štefánik in Russia

From left: Fournol, General Graziani, Simon, general Štefánik and Dr. Sychrava during the inspection of Czechoslovakian honorable battalion in Filibert Savojsky barracks in Rome, May 25, 1918

Štefánik in Italy before returning to his homeland in 1919

Štefánik (left) during the solemn handover of the Czechoslovak legions flag in Rome in May 1918. In the middle, Vittorio Orlando, President of the Italian Government

Štefánik’s thank-you letter to the French Prime Minister Aristide Briand explaining the idea of Czecho-Slovakia after they met on Dec 22nd, 1915. The meeting was arranged by marquise Claire Boas de Jouvenel.

Her telegram to Štefánik: “Dear friend, Mr. Lamairie awaits you at Frederic Bastia No. 1 to introduce you to Aristide Briand, who will meet you at 9:30”

Kindly provided by Dr. Miroslav Musil, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic

Agreement between the Government of Italy and the Czechoslovak National Council in exile, negotiated and signed by M. R. Štefánik on April 21, 1918 in Rome, Italy.

Kindly provided by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic

Štefánik’s apartment in Paris

Arrival of general Štefánik the Secretary of war and the chief commander of the Allied Command troops in Siberia general Janin (with a black band on the sleeve) to Vladivostok. On a ship in the harbor, November 1918

CZECHOSLOVAK LEGIONS IN FRANCE, ITALY AND RUSSIA

Recruitment for the Czechoslovak legions abroad was mainly from volunteers, soldiers, prisoners and deserters from the Austro-Hungarian army. The first units were created in Russia (Česká družina) and France (Rota nazdar). Štefánik was sent to Russia, Romania, and later Italy to continue recruitment of volunteers. He was able to negotiate the signing of agreements with the governments of Russia and Italy to officially recognize Czechoslovak legions. For his military and diplomatic achievements, Štefánik was promoted in 1917 to the rank of brigade general of the French army.

Czecho-Slovakians at the barracks in Reuilly, Paris

November 8, 1918, Place Francoisier in Cognac. Generals Janin and Chere watching a parade of 2,000 Czech soldier

Oath and flag hand-over to Rota Nazdar in Bayonne, France, 1914

Military oaths and military flag hand - over to Czechoslovak legions in Darney, France on June 30, 1918

Train station in Cognac

Legionnaires of the 21st Shooting Regiment in Cognac, France 1917

Members of Rota Nazdar

The oath of Czechoslovak legions in Rome

General Štefánik and general Andrea Graziani (commander of Czechoslovak legions in Italy) on the patrol of the troops at Monte Baldo in northern Italy, July 1918

General Graziani in conversation with Štefánik

Magnificent celebration took place in Rome by the monument of Viktor Emmanuel II on May 24, 1918, the 3rd anniversary of Italy’s entry into the WWI. As vice-president of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris, general Štefánik handed over the flag of czecho-slovak legions to the general Graziani ( the commander of cs. legions) after receiving it from the Italian premier Orlando, which signified Italy’s official recognition of the 1st Czechoslovak Republic.

Orthodox liturgy ceremony at the oath of Česká družina at the Sofia Square in Kiev on September 28 (October 11) 1914

The flag of Česká družina

Štefánik in Russia

Czechs and Slovaks in Yekaterinburg, 1918

REPATRIATION OF THE LEGIONS TO NEWLY ESTABLISHED CZECHO-SLOVAKIA

Following the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, the new Russian government signed the Brest-Litov treaty and civil war began in Russia. The position of Czechoslovak legions became difficult and Štefánik was sent to Russia to organize the transport of almost 70, 000 soldiers over the Tran Siberian Railway to Vladivostok and back to Czechoslovakia. Following complicated negotiations, the last transport left Vladivostok in September 1920, 2 years after the war ended.

A covered statue of Marshal Radecki on the Lesser Side in Prague, November 1918

Prague manifestation at St. Wenceslas square on October 28, 1918

The ceremonial assembly celebrating the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in Liptovsky St. Nicholas (now Slovak Republic) in November 1918

The Czechoslovak army in Russia had a total of 531 passengers and 10 287 freight wagons, which were arranged in 259 trains. This number does not include 27 medical and evacuation trains.

Czecho-slovak legions in Russia

The cart of armored train

Štefánik (left first) with Gen. Radola Gajda in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Dec 8, 1918

General Štefánik in Siberia

Štefánik arriving to Ekaterinburg, December 1918

Lenin (middle) and Bolsheviks during their rise to power, 1917

Armored train Orlik

A train on the move at Trans-Siberian Railway

Czecho-slovak soldiers of the Eastern Group under the command of Colonel Gajda in the conquered Irkutsk, Russia

Czechoslovak legions transported by the ship Mount Vernon, 1920

Czechoslovak legions transported by the ship Madawaska, 1920

TRAGIC DEATH AND THE LEGACY

In January 1919, Štefánik left Russia and returned to France. He was appointed as Minister of War in the newly created Czechoslovakian government. Legion troops from Italy were transferred to Slovakia to patrol the demarcation line along the border with Hungary. They were under the command of General Luigi Piccione. A French military mission also began in the Czech territories after January 1919. The head of the mission was General Maurice Pellé and his role was to integrate the existing Czechoslovak Foreign Legions with the home units of the Army and develop a professional command structure. This led to the competency disagreement between Italian and French military missions and Štefánik was asked to assist in settling this delicate matter. In April 1919, he went from Paris to Rome to negotiate with the Italian Ministry of War and to the main Italian military base in Padua, where he agreed with General Armando Diaz to dissolve the Italian military mission in Czechoslovakia.

On May 4th, 1919 he left from Campoformido (Udine, Italy), after visiting his fiancée, marquise Juliana Benzoni. He flew back home using an Italian military plane to finalize the end of the Italian military mission. His plane tried to land near Bratislava but it crashed near Ivanka pri Dunaji. Štefánik died, along with the rest of his Italian crew. He was buried on Bradlo Hill in Brezová pod Bradlom with military honors. His monument was finished in 1928 according to the design of the architect Dušan Jurkovič.

LEGACY OF MILAN RASTISLAV ŠTEFÁNIK

From a poor village boy he became a respected astronomer,diplomat and a general of the French Army
He laid the foundations of military meteorology for the French Air Force
He was co-founder of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 (Masaryk, Štefánik, Beneš)
He played a crucial role in the organization of the Czechoslovak Legions, which became a regular army after the establishment of Czechoslovakia

Štefánik with his fiancee Giuliana Benzoni and her mother

Portrait of Štefánik from Mikulas Galanda

Štefánik's parade in Italy

May 4th, before taking off from Italy, Štefánik in the middle, last picture of him alive

Wreckage of Štefánik’s plane

The debris of Štefánik’s aircraft near Vajnory, May 4, 1919

Funeral carriage in Bratislava

Funeral carriage on Bradlo hill

Commemoration on Bradlo hill

Giuliana Benzoni (in a hat) visiting Štefánik's relatives in 1968

Celebration of the 49th anniversary of the death of Štefánik at Bradlo, May 5. 1968 (aerial photography).

General Štefánik Memorial in Bratislava in 1946

Štefánik's statue in Bratislava

GOVERNMENT OF SLOVAK REPUBLIC DECLARES 2019 THE YEAR OF MILAN RASTISLAV ŠTEFÁNIK

On May 4th, 2019, the Slovak Republic will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragic death of the brigade general Dr. Milan Rastislav Štefánik, and on July 21st, 2020, 140 years of his birth.

In consideration of M. R. Štefánik's merits for Slovakia, and on the occasion of this anniversary, the Ministry of Culture proposed to the Slovak government to declare the year 2019 the Year of Milan Rastislav Štefánik. Both important anniversaries of M. R. Štefánik are a framework for activities between 2019 and 2020 that will commemorate him and will also be an opportunity for preparing important events, memorial festivities and improving the sites associated with his name.

Štefánik’s belongings are on display at multiple locations of the Slovak National Museum in Košariská, Martin and Bratislava.