Portrait of Milan Rastislav Štefánik.

Archive record

Shown here is a portrait of the young Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880--1919), a Slovak politician, astronomer, and general of the French army. Together with the Czech political leaders Tomáš G. Masaryk (1850-1937) and Eduard Beneš (1884-1948), Štefánik founded, in Paris in 1916, the Czechoslovak National Council, the supreme authority of the Czechoslovakian exiles during the World War I. The present-day Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia were at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and many exiles sought to advance the cause of an independent Czechoslovakia after the war by supporting the Allied Powers (Britain, France, and Russia) against Austria-Hungary and its ally Germany. Štefánik organized Czechoslovak legions in Serbia, Italy, Romania, and Russia to fight on the side of the Allies, and he became the first Czechoslovak minister of war. He died in a plane crash while returning to Slovakia shortly after the end of the war. The identity of the photographer is unknown, but the process used is a ferrotype (also called tintype), which involved taking a positive image on a thin iron or tin plate.

About this photograph

This ferrotype shows Milan Rastislav Štefánik at the age of fifteen. The archive record identifies him as a Slovak politician, astronomer, and general in the French army who lived from 1880 to 1919.

According to the record, Štefánik founded the Czechoslovak National Council in Paris in 1916 alongside Tomáš G. Masaryk and Eduard Beneš. The council served as the supreme authority for Czechoslovakian exiles during the First World War. At that time, the present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia formed part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The record states that Štefánik organized Czechoslovak legions in Serbia, Italy, Romania, and Russia to fight for the Allied Powers against Austria-Hungary and Germany, advancing the cause of an independent Czechoslovakia. He became the first Czechoslovak minister of war.

He died in a plane crash while returning to Slovakia shortly after the war ended. The photographer is unknown.

Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.

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