1804–1874.

Stevan Magazinović

Statesman and benefactor of schoolchildren

A life in the service of the state

Stevan Magazinović was one of the most prominent figures in the political life of Serbia in the 19th century. He held the highest state offices: he was Minister of the Interior, the Prince's representative in Constantinople and President of the Supreme Court. His career was marked by the struggle for a state governed by law and for the organisation of the institutions of the young Principality of Serbia.

As a man of law and order, he understood that the progress of society rests on education. Although he spent his whole life in high politics, his heart turned to those who needed help most: poor children eager for knowledge.

"I leave everything to my people, that books may be printed and distributed to the poor, for knowledge must not be a privilege of the rich."

A covenant for the future

A year before his death, in 1873, he drew up a will bequeathing all his property for educational purposes. He established a fund whose income was intended exclusively for printing and the free distribution of textbooks to poor pupils of primary schools and gymnasiums in Serbia and Old Serbia.