Jovan Jovanović Zmaj
November 24, 1833 – June 01, 1904
Countries:
Serbia
Place of Birth:
Novi Sad, Austrian Empire (today Serbia)
Place of Death:
Sremska Kamenica, Austria-Hungary (today part of Novi Sad, Serbia)
Jovan "Jova" Jovanović (pronounced jɔ̌v̞an jɔv̞ǎːnɔv̞it͡ɕ zmâj; 24 November 1833 – 1 June 1904), also known as Jovan Jovanović Zmaj or Zmaj, was one of the best-known Serbian poets. He was a physician by profession.
He wrote in many of the genres of poetry, including love, lyric, patriotic, political, youth's, etc. But he is best known for his children's poetry. His nursery rhymes have entered the Serbian national consciousness and people sing them to their children without necessarily knowing who wrote them. He also translated the works of some of the great poets, Russia's Lermontov and Pushkin; Germany's Goethe and Heine; and the United States' Longfellow.
His nickname Zmaj (Змај, meaning "dragon") derives from May Assembly (3 May 1848), in Serbian Cyrillic: 3.мај. The dot (indicating an ordinary number in Serbian) was mistakenly left out, thus the writing read "3мај". Zmay may also be derived from zmău or zmeu, from Vlach/Romanian language, meaning dragon.
He wrote in many of the genres of poetry, including love, lyric, patriotic, political, youth's, etc. But he is best known for his children's poetry. His nursery rhymes have entered the Serbian national consciousness and people sing them to their children without necessarily knowing who wrote them. He also translated the works of some of the great poets, Russia's Lermontov and Pushkin; Germany's Goethe and Heine; and the United States' Longfellow.
His nickname Zmaj (Змај, meaning "dragon") derives from May Assembly (3 May 1848), in Serbian Cyrillic: 3.мај. The dot (indicating an ordinary number in Serbian) was mistakenly left out, thus the writing read "3мај". Zmay may also be derived from zmău or zmeu, from Vlach/Romanian language, meaning dragon.