Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin

A world-class mind, a Serbian heart

Mihajlo Pupin was a world-renowned scientist, inventor and long-time professor at Columbia University in New York. Born in the small Banat village of Idvor, he began his journey as a poor emigrant and, through work and genius, reached the very summits of world science. His "Pupin coils" made it possible to transmit telephone signals over long distances and connected the world.

Although he lived in America, he never forgot his mother Olimpijada and his people. He was a key diplomat during the First World War, and his personal friendship with President Wilson was decisive in determining the borders of the new state of Yugoslavia (especially in Banat and Dalmatia).

Funds and endowments

Pupin established numerous charitable funds. The "Pijada Aleksić-Pupin Fund" (in honour of his mother) supported the schooling of pupils in Old Serbia and Macedonia. He also established funds at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) and the National Museum. In his native Idvor he built the "People's House", conceived as a temple of knowledge for farmers.