New York: Commemorating 87 years since the death of Mihajlo Pupin

13. Mar 2022.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the death of the great scientist and humanist Mihajlo Pupin, a memorial service was held on 13 March 2022 at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

Along with SOC clergy and representatives of the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in New York, the commemoration was attended by Mr. Dragan Vujošević – President of the Serbian National Defence Council of America (headquartered in Chicago), members of the "Drina" Cultural and Artistic Society (Paterson, NJ), and by a large number of US and Serbian citizens, including one who travelled all the way from Idvor in Serbia, the birthplace of Mihajlo Pupin.

The memorial service was administered by Father Djokan Majstorović, the elder of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, and Father Milan Dragović, the elder of the Church of St. Sava in New York.

The members of the "Drina" Cultural and Artistic Society from Paterson performed a short program on the occasion.

The Consul Gerant at the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in New York, Ms Olgica Vlačić, told the audience how proud Pupin was of his homeland and his Serbian origin, as well as of his new country – the USA – where he continued to create, to teach at the prestigious Columbia University, and eventually became Honorary Consul of Serbia to the United States. Mihajlo Pupin – both a Serbian and an American scientist, inventor and philanthropist showed by his example that Serbs in the United States need not choose between two national identities, and that that it was possible to be a good Serb and a good American at the same time and to love both countries the way Mihajlo Pupin did.

In his address, Mr. Dragan Vujošević – President of the Serbian National Defence Council of America pointed out that Mihajlo Pupin was the first president of the Serbian National Defence (SND), the oldest Serbian association in America, founded in 1914.

Mr. Vujošević spoke of Pupin's contribution to organising the Serbian diaspora in the US as well as his numerous activities aimed at defending and helping Serbia during World War I. He particularly highlighted Pupin's diplomatic contribution, based on his relationship, cooperation, and friendship with the then US President Woodrow Wilson. One of the results of that relationship was that his birthplace Idvor became a part of the Kingdom of Serbia after the Great War.