Slovakia FDC on "Michal Miloslav Hodža (1811 - 1870)"

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Slovakia

Michal Miloslav Hodža (1811 - 1870)

Date of Issue : 22 September 2011

Michal Miloslav Hodža was one of the leading personalities of Slovak cultural and political life in the 1830’s – 1860’s. He was born on 22nd September 1811 in the village of Rakša in central Slovakia.

During his studies in Bratislava in the 1830’s , he became close with Ľudovít Štúr as well as Joseph M. Hurban. Along with them, he brought about a new codification of the Slovak literary language in 1843. Hodža also participated in establishing Tatrín (1844), the first nationwide cultural association as well as in issuing the first Slovak political newspaper (1845). He was one of the leaders of the Slovak revolution in 1848 – 1849. After the revolution he worked as a notary for some time devoting himself to cultural, linguistic, theological and political activities. In 1867 after a conflict with the authorities he emigrated to Těšín in Silesia, where he died on 26th March 1870.

The main motif of the post stamp is Hodža’s portrait with a background in which there are books and pens, symbolizing his merit in codification of the Slovak literary language. FDC’s motif is a collage of the church where he worked and where, thanks to his initiative, a number of major national gatherings took place along with other items that symbolize his contribution to the development of the nation, its culture and the Slovak Lutheran Church. On the FDC Cancellation there is a facsimile of Hodža’s signature.