William Klinger

William Klinger
Born 24 September 1972
Rijeka, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia (now Rijeka, Republic of Croatia)
Died 31 January 2015 (aged 42)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Cause of death
Gunshot wound
Occupation Historian

William Klinger (24 September 1972 − 31 January 2015) was a Yugoslavian-born Italian historian[1] who specialized in modern Croatian and Yugoslav history[2] as well as history of communism and nationalism.

Biography

Klinger was born on 24 September 1972 in Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia,[3] but his family roots are reportedly in Pakrac. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Trieste in 1997 with a BA in history, while attending also the University of Klagenfurt due to a stipend he received from the Austrian government. He gained masters degree at the Central European University in Budapest and doctoral degree at the European University Institute in Florence, where he wrote his doctoral dissertation titled "Negotiating the Nation: Fiume, from Autonomism to State making 1848-1924".[2]

Klinger lived in the Italian town of Gradisca d'Isonzo. An independent researcher, he was employed by the Centro di Ricerche Storiche di Rovigno (Center for Historical Research of Rovinj).[2] Aside from Italian and Croatian Klinger also spoke German, English, Furlan, Russian and Slovene.[2]

He was found with a gunshot wound to the head on 31 January 2015 in Astoria Park in Queens, New York, where he had been attending a conference on former Yugoslavia, the Second World War and the post-war Balkans.[4] He died the same day at Elmhurst Hospital, where he was taken after he was found lying near the park's public pool.[5]

Bibliography

References

Citations
  1. "Historian slain in Queens". Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Kuljiš, Denis (11 August 2012). "J.B. Tito - Staljinov agent koji je srušio komunizam". Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  3. Izvješće - Filozofski fakultet - Sveučilište u Zagrebu
  4. "Ucciso William Klinger". La voce del popolo (in Italian). 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  5. Cullen, Terence; Tracy, Thomas (31 January 2015). "Cops: Man fatally shot in Queens park". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2 February 2015.