Dositej (Dimitrije) Obradovic, Serbian educator, writer, and reformer, was born in 1742 (in 1739 in some documents) in Čakovo, in today’s Romania. In 1758 he received the monastic name Dositej when he became a monk at the monastery Hopovo. Basic knowledge of literature and philosophy, he acquired in Greece. He was educated in Vienna, Bratislava, and Modra. Staying in European cities interested him in educational and social reforms. His most famous work was printed in Leipzig, “Pismo Haralampiju”, “Život i priključenija”, “Sovjeti zdravago razuma”, “Basne”. He was involved in the translation of Aesop’s fables from Greek into English. In 1804, on the first Serbian uprising, he announces the Serbian anthem “Vostani Serbie” which, with wakes up the Serbian people from centuries of slavery with its strong message.
Dositej Obradovic was responsible for the new cultural achievements and moral foundations, and educational society of Serbia. He died in Belgrade in 1811. His sculpture in Novi Sad is located in front of the Institute of Chemistry at the Square of Dositej Obradovic. The figure is made of bronze and is 220 cm high. It is the work of the Belgrade sculptor Nikola Jankovic. A sculpture is exposed to the public in 1990.
