Catalog number: FPL03MS

Philatelic Commemorative Sheet - Milan Rastislav Štefánik

Philatelic Commemorative Sheet Slovakia 2003 - Milan Rastislav Štefánik - Joint Slovak-French Edition

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Philatelic Commemorative Sheet Slovakia 2003 - Milan Rastislav Štefánik - Slovak-French Joint Issue
Author: Doc. akad. mal. Martin Činovský ArtD.
Issue Number: 008 PaL 293/03
Date of Issue: 03.05.2003

Specification:
Milan Rastislav Štefánik (21.7.1880 – 4.5.1919) – scientist, diplomat, soldier, and politician. In 1904, he graduated in philosophy and astronomy from Charles University in Prague, then moved to Paris, where he worked at the Meudon Observatory, later at the Mont Blanc observatories. He conducted several significant astronomical observations on various continents and during research trips also fulfilled diplomatic tasks on behalf of the French government. In 1912, he obtained French citizenship. After the outbreak of World War I, he joined the French army and participated in battles in France and the Balkans as a military pilot. In the French army, he achieved the rank of brigadier general by mission. In 1915, together with T. G. Masaryk and E. Beneš, he founded the Czechoslovak National Council in Paris, which aimed to liberate Slovaks and Czechs from the position of oppressed nations of Austria-Hungary. As a soldier and diplomat, he contributed mainly to the political recognition of the Council and the creation of its armed forces – legions – in France, Italy, and Russia, which fought on the side of the Entente. After the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, he was appointed Minister of War. Upon returning home, he died under still unexplained circumstances in an air crash near Bratislava. In Slovak society, his person became a symbol of the struggle for national equality and independence, freedom, and democracy.

source: pofis.sk