JOHANN HEINRICH SCHWICKER AND HIS SOCIAL ACTIVISM IN VELIKI BEČKEREK

Renowned scholar, pedagog and historian Johann Heinrich Schwicker is a widely recognized figure in Serbian historiography, mostly due to his work Political History of Serbs in Southern Hungary. From 1857 till 1869 he resided in Veliki Bečkerek, where his participation in the city’s social life can be traced thanks to the local weekly newspaper Gross-Becskereker Wochenblatt. While working as a teacher in the local Grammar School, Schwicker also acted as a secretary of Veliki Bečkerek’s Chamber of Merchants, member of Veliki Bečkerek Steamship company and Chairman of the Catholic Church Congregation. Here he published his first major historical work – History of Banat of Tamiš, initiated the establishment of a secondary modern school and launched the pedagogical review. In 1869 Schwicker moved to Buda, where he occupied numerous educational positions, until his death in 1902.