Baltazar Bogišić
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Baltazar Bogišić (Cyrillic: Валтазар Богишић; also known as Baldo Bogišić or Valtazar Bogišić; Cavtat, 7 December 1834 - Rijeka, 24 April 1908) was a famous Serbian jurist, bibliophile, historian, and scientist well-known throughout Europe. His work in law can be seen in his numerous publications, including the first constitution of Montenegro. His scientific works include many ethnologic and historiographic researches; he is known as one of the pioneers of zadruga research. He was a Roman Catholic Christian.
[edit] Life
Bogišić was born in Cavtat on December 7, 1834 to Serbian parentage. Baltazar's grew up his birth town and for the first years of his adolescent life worked at his father's employment. In 1856, his father died and Bogišić studied abroad. He finished secondary school in Venice in 1859 and then attended law school in Vienna. Bogišić received his PhD in 1862, and was hired as an administrator of the Viennese court library.
In 1869 he was appointed a law professor at the University of Odessa. In 1872 Nicholas I of Montenegro of Montenegro invited him to produce write the new Civil Code which would replace the General Law of the Land of Danilo II Petrović Njegoš used since 1855. Baltazar went to Paris to begin his work, but was cut short due to war in the Balkans, and was sent to Bulgaria to participate in organizing the court system at the beginning of the Russo-Turkish war, but returned to Paris in late 1877and after further travels returned to Paris at the end of 1887, where he wrote and published many of his works.
On 25 March 1888 his Civil Code was instituted by Nicholas I of Montenegro, formally in force on 1 July that year. In 1893 Nicholas appointed him the Minister of Justice to oversee the Code's implementation and carry out changes. The Code was almost fully based on the customs of Serb brotherhoods in Montenegro and Herzegovina. On 14 January 1898 on Balthazzar's proposal Nicholas proclaimed an amended version of the code. In 1899 he resigned from the Ministry and returning to Paris, where he worked as continued his studies until his death.
A bibliophile, during his life Bogišić had collected over 18,000 rare volumes which, together with his private correspondence of 10,092 letters, he left to his native Cavtat.
