| Josif Runjanin Јосиф Руњанин Josip Runjanin Joseph Runjanin |
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|---|---|
| Born |
December 8, 1821 |
| Died |
February 2, 1878 (aged 56) |
| Occupation | soldier and composer |
Josif Runjanian or Josip Runjanin (Cyrillic script: Јосиф Руњанин; Croatian: Josip Runjanin; December 8, 1821–February 2, 1878) was a Serb composer from Croatia, most notably known for composing the melody of the Croatian national anthem and of the Serbian patriotic song "Rado Srbin ide u vojnike" (Gladly will the Serb enlist in the Army). He was lieutenant-colonel in the Austro-Hungarian Army.
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The Runjanin family originates from the village of Runjani in Jadar, in the Drina valley (western Serbia). The family moved to Bijeljina in Bosnia in 1718 when Austria took over Serbia and Northern Bosnia.
Most of the family's members fled once again, during the Second Great Migration of Serbs in 1739 when Serbia and Northern Bosnia returned to Ottoman rule and found refuge in the area of Osijek in the Austrian Empire controlled Slavonia.
One Đorđe Runjanin then settled in the village of Grk, in Syrmia with his family. Đorđe's son Stojak was a Serbian Orthodox Church priest in Kuzmin to his death in 1758. The list of descendants to Josif Runjanin runs in the following pattern: Stojak fathered Vasilije who was the father of Petar (another Orthodox minister), and whose son was Ignjat (1798 - 10 November 1876) who was an Austrian army captain in Vinkovci.
Josif was the eldest of Ignjat's 7 children.
Young Runjanin was baptized in the Orthodox shrine of the Descent of the Holy Ghost (Silaska Svetog Duha) in Vinkovci. The ceremony was carried out by the renowned local priest Adam Popović. He received education in Vinkovci, and then Sremski Karlovci. He was named "Josif" in accordance to Biblical traditions of the Serbs of his age. Between 1848 and 1866 he served in four Austrian military engages in Italy. At the age of 43 he married the daughter of the pensioned captain Toma Perković. As a representative of the First Banate regiment he entered the Croatian Assembly in 1865.
In his youth, he served in the Imperial Army as a cadet in Glina, Military Frontier. There, he was introduced to the Illyrist circles, where he met noted poet Antun Mihanović. Josif composed the music for his patriotic Croatian song Lijepa naša domovina in 1848, although this Croatian Anthem would be first played in the streets of Zagreb in 1891 during the Croatian-Slavonian exhibit, so both men only achieved post-mortal fame. While serving in Glina, he attained the rank of Captain, and became proficient in playing the piano, being taught by the military kapelnik of Glina. An obedient soldier, Josif later was later made colonel.
After retirement, Josif moved to Novi Sad where he died at the age of 57 on 2 February 1878 and was buried at the Serbian Orthodox Ascension Cemetery (Uspensko groblje).
During his lifetime he was recognized for having composed three major songs which are popular to this day: