SOME IMPORTANT CROATS

KOSTELIC, JANICA (born January 5, 1982) is a female skier from Croatia, the best female skier in the world currently and one of the greatest female skiers of all times that keeps rewriting all the record books. She is the only woman to win four gold medals in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympic Games (in 2002 and 2006), and the only woman to win three alpine Olympic gold medals in one year (2002). She was World Cup champion in 2001, 2003 and 2006. On January 15, 2006 Kostelic became only the third woman in World Cup history (after Swede Pernilla Wiberg and Austrian Petra Kronberger) to win World Cup races in all of the sport's five disciplines. On February 5, 2006 Janica became the second female skier (after Petra Kronberger) to win all five disciplines in one season. She also collected record number of points in one season, 1970, 10 more than Swede Pernilla Wiberg. In season 2005/06, Janica won World Cup for the third time, but also was in Top 5 in all 4 disciplines, including number 1 in slalom.
She was born in Zagreb to a winter sport family: her father Ante Kostelic is also her trainer and her older brother Ivica Kostelic is a renowned skier in his own right.

PETROVIC, DRAZEN (1964-1993.) was a Croatian basketball player. He is arguably the best player ever to emerge from the Old Continent and considered a crucial part of the vanguard to the present-day mass influx of European players into the NBA.
IVANSEVIC, GORAN (born September 13, 1971 in Split) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 2001 (having previously been runner-up at the championships in 1992, 1994 and 1998).
SUKER, DAVOR (born January 1, 1968) is a former Croatian football striker who was the top scorer and the Golden Boot winner at the 1998 World Cup, where he scored 6 goals in 7 matches and led the Croatian national team to their sensational third place finish in their first World Cup appearance. He is also the Croatian national team's all-time goal scoring leader with 45 goals.

BOSKOVIC, RUDJER (1711-1787.) the physicist, mathematician and astronomer; one of the most recognized scientist of his time, predecessor of modern physics, founder of dynamic atomistic
BUKOVAC, VLAHO (born Biagio Faggioni) (1855 - 1922) was a Croatian painter. Bukovac was born in Cavtat, the small town south of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia. He died in Prague.
BROZ-TITO, JOSIP (1892-1980.) politician and statesman; organizer of the antifascist rebellion in Yugoslavia during the World War II
DALMATINAC, JURAJ (Georgius Mattei Dalmaticus, known as Giorgio Orsini in Italy, 15th century, born in Zadar) who built the Loggia dei Mercanti and the portal of St. Francis Church in Ancona. His epoch represents the golden age of Croatian medieval art. His most beautiful achievement is the Cathedral of St. Jacob (Jakov) in Sibenik, the top monument of Croatian culture, reflecting in a sense the character of urban life of that time, and certainly a sculptural chef d'oeuvre (shelled during the Greater Serbian aggression in 1991).
DRZIC, MARIN (1508-1567.) writer; chronicler of Dubrovnik Republic, one of the greatest comedians of the Renaissance (predecessor of Moliere)
GENERALIC, IVAN (1914-1992.) naive painter; founder of the world renowned Hlebine painting school
GETALDIC, MARIN GHETALDUS (1566-1606.) mathematician; he used algebra in geometric; pioneer in making of conic lenses
GUNDULIC, IVAN (1589-1638.) writer; famous for his epic "Osman" where he celebrated a freedom-loving spirit of Dubrovnik Republic
KLOVIC, JULIJE (1498-1578.) painter; the greatest European miniaturist of his time, he painted for the Roman Pope and for the Medici family in Florence
KRLEZA, MIROSLAV (1893-1981.) the greatest modern Croatian writer and also one of the most significant Middle European writers of the first half of the 20th century; founder of Croatian lexicography
LISINSKI, VATROSLAV (1819-1854.) composer; he wrote the first Croatian opera "Love and Malice" in 1846 LUPIS, IVAN (1813-1875.) nautical officer from Rijeka; inventor of the torpedo, which was manufactured for the first time in Whitehead's factory in Rijeka in 1866 MARIN (4th century) stonecutter from the island of Rab; founded Republic of San Marino, the first republic in Europe
MESTROVIC, IVAN (1883-1962.) famous Croatian sculptor; he created monumental sculptures with national thematic; he worked in the USA where he made his best known sculpture is "Indians" in Chicago
PENKALA, SLAVOLJUB (1871-1922.) inventor of the mechanical pencil and fountain pen in 1906 and of the first Croatian two-seater plane
POLO, MARCO (1254-1324.) Venetian adventurer and explorer; meritorious for his explorations of China; according to tradition, born on Korcula island
PRELOG, VLADIMIR (1906-1998.) chemist; he worked in Switzerland, in 1975 he won a Nobel price for chemistry
RADIC, STJEPAN (1871-1928.) politician; founder of the Croatian Peasant Party, he was democrat leader and champion of Croatian liberation; he was assassinated at the Assembly of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
RUZICKA, LAVOSLAV (1887-1976.) chemist, he worked in Switzerland, in 1939 he won a Nobel price for chemistry
SCHWARTZ, DAVID (1852-1897.) constructor of air ship with a metal frame; Ferdinand Zeppelin bought out his work and, based on them, built the aircraft which bears his name
STARCEVIC, ANTE (1823-1896.) politician, founder of the Croatian Party of Rights, advocated the policy of complete independence of Croatia; named "the father of the nation"
STEPINAC, ALOJZIJE (1898-1960.) archbishop from Zagreb, cardinal and theologian; publicly condemned fascist persecution during the World War II; after establishing of the Communist rule, was imprisoned. He died in confinement. Beatified in 1998.
TESLA, NIKOLA (1856-1943.) physicist; he worked in USA; one of the greatest scientist in the fields of electrical engineering; he projected the first hydroelectric power station at Niagara Falls using alternating current; laid the groundwork for the making of radar equipment; the measuring unit for magnetic induction (Tesla - T) was named after him
TUDJMAN, FRANJO (1922-1999.) politician and historian, he participated in antifascist movement. He came into conflict with Communist regime because he represented Croatian national interests. He founded Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ), which won the first multiparty elections in 1990, he was the first president of independent Croatian state
VRANCIC, FAUST (1551-1617.) inventor, philosopher and lexicographer; he anticipated a number of technical inventions, the parachute, among others
VUCETIC, IVAN (1858-1925.) one of the inventors of dactyloscopy, the method for identifying persons by their fingerprints  

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