Branislav Nušić facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Branislav Nušić
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Nušić in a 1900 photo taken by his godfather and photographer Milan Jovanović.
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| Born | Alkibijad Nuša 20 October [O.S. 8 October] 1864 Belgrade, Principality of Serbia |
| Died | 19 January 1938 (aged 73) Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| Occupation | Playwright • satirist • essayist • novelist |
| Language | Serbian |
| Nationality | Serbia • Yugoslavia |
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Branislav Nušić (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранислав Нушић, pronounced [brǎnislav̞ nûʃit͡ɕ]) was a famous Serbian writer. He was born on October 20, 1864, and passed away on January 19, 1938. He wrote plays, funny stories (satire), essays, and novels. He also helped start modern public speaking in Serbia. Besides writing, he was a journalist and worked for the government.
Contents
Life of Branislav Nušić
Branislav Nušić was born as Alkibijad Nuša in Belgrade on October 20, 1864. His father was a merchant from a group called Aromanians. His mother was a Serb from Brčko, Bosnia.
Early Life and Education
Young Alkibijad finished his first school years in Smederevo. This was a port town along the Danube River. Later, he returned to Belgrade to finish his high school education. In 1882, when he was 18, he officially changed his name to Branislav Nušić.
He then went to the Belgrade Higher School. This school later became the University of Belgrade. He studied law there and graduated in 1885. That same year, at age 21, he joined the Royal Serbian Army.
Military Service and Early Writings
Nušić's time in the army happened during the Serbo-Bulgarian War in November 1885. This war lasted only two weeks. He saw the war firsthand as a corporal in western Bulgaria.
Nušić was quick to criticize how the Serbian army leaders acted during the war. The war ended with Bulgaria winning. He wrote about his thoughts in a book called Pripovetke jednog kaplara iz srpsko–bugarskog rata 1885. This means The Stories of a Corporal from the Serbo–Bulgarian War of 1885. It was published in 1886.
He then studied for one year at the University of Graz in Austria-Hungary. In 1887, Nušić published a poem called Dva raba ("Two Servants"). This poem made fun of the Serbian King Milan. The king had attended a funeral for an unpopular general's mother. But he did not attend the funeral of an officer named Mihailo Katanić. This officer had died saving his regiment's flag.
Nušić was arrested for insulting the king. He was sentenced to two years in prison. He served his time in a prison in Požarevac. However, he was released after only one year because he behaved well.
Career in Public Service and Journalism
In 1889, shortly after leaving prison, Nušić started working for the government. He became an official in Serbia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A few years later, in 1893, he married Darinka Đorđević. She was 17 and the niece of the Serbian consul in Bitola. They had three children, but one died when they were very young.
Between 1889 and 1900, Nušić worked as a clerk. He was at Serbian consulates in different parts of the Ottoman Empire. These places included Bitola, Serres, Thessaloniki, Skopje, and Pristina. Even though he had spoken against war before, Nušić became a strong supporter of using military force. He believed this was needed to remove the Ottoman Empire from the Balkans.
In 1900, he got a job at the Ministry of Education. Soon after, he became the main play director for the National Theatre in Belgrade. In 1904, he was made head of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.
In 1905, he left this new job and moved back to Belgrade. He started working as a journalist. He also edited different magazines. He wrote articles for Politika under the pseudonym Ben Akiba.
Later Life and World War I
In October 1908, Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia and Herzegovina. After this, Nušić led many protests in Belgrade against Austria-Hungary. He stood on a balcony at the National Theatre. He spoke loudly against the "taking" of Serbian lands by Austria-Hungary. He demanded immediate military action. He even rode his horse into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs! This surprised Prime Minister Nikola Pašić.
Nušić's plays became very popular after this event. In 1912, Nušić returned to Bitola as a government worker. Macedonia was captured by Serbia after the First Balkan War. In February 1913, Nušić was made the leader of Bitola. However, he had to resign quickly. This was because he did not follow the demands of the Black Hand. This was a secret group, and other ultra-nationalist groups.
Despite this, he stayed in Skopje. He helped start the city's first theater in 1913. World War I brought more sadness to Nušić. His son, Strahinja, was killed fighting in the Serbian Army. Nušić lived in Skopje until November 1915. At that time, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Bulgaria invaded and took over Serbia.
He was part of the Serbian army's retreat through Albania. This happened between November 1915 and February 1916. He lived in Italy, Switzerland, and France until the war ended.
Post-War Years and Legacy
Nušić returned to Serbia feeling very sad. He was heartbroken by the loss of his only son. He was appointed the first head of the Ministry of Education's art department. He worked with other writers like Borisav Stanković. He also became the first director of the theater in Skopje after the war. He stayed in this job until 1923.
After that, he was made head of the Sarajevo National Theatre. In Sarajevo, Nušić wrote Ramazanske noći (Nights of Ramadan). He used the name Halil Delibašić for this work. He returned to Belgrade in 1927. In Vienna, he acted in a film called Paramount Review in 1930.
Nušić became a member of the Serbian Royal Academy in 1933. After his play The Bereaved Family was first shown in Sofia in 1935, he received a medal from Bulgaria. He also received several important awards. These included the Order of Saint Sava and the Order of the White Eagle. Branislav Nušić died in Belgrade on January 19, 1938.
Selected Works
Here are some of Branislav Nušić's most important works:
Comedies
- Народни посланик (A Member of the Parliament) (1885)
- Сумњиво лице (A Suspicious Person) (1887)
- Протекција (Favoritism) (1889)
- Обичан човек (An Ordinary Man) (1899)
- Свет (The Publicity) (1906)
- Пут око света (Travel Around the World) (1910)
- Госпођа министарка (The Cabinet Minister's Wife) (1929)
- Мистер Долар (Mister Dollar) (1932)
- Ујеж (SYEW - Society of Yugoslav Emancipated Women) (1933)
- Ожалошћена породица (Bereaved Family) (1934)
- Др (PhD) (1936)
- Покојник (The Deceased) (1937)
Dramas
- Тако је морало бити (It Had to Be This Way) (1902)
- Пучина (Offing) (1902)
Novels
- Општинско дете (County's Child) (1902)
- Хајдуци (Hajduks) (1933)
- Аутобиографија (Autobiography) (1924)
Short stories
- Приповетке једног каплара (The Corporal's Stories) (1886)
Other Writings
- Реторика (a book about public speaking) (1934)
Images for kids
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Nušić (far left) visiting Bulgaria in 1935.
