Jovan Tošković

Who was Jovan Tošković?

Dr. Jovan Tošković was a Serbian historian, professor and politician of Montenegrin origin.

Born to a merchant family in Plana, Principality of Montenegro, Jovan finished his primary education in the town of Kolašin and later moved to Belgrade under the guidance of his uncle, an envoy of King Nikola. He graduated from the University of Belgrade's newly created Faculty of Philosophy, and having published his doctoral thesis he became the first post-war professor of Serbian history at the university. The fact that he earned his doctorate from the University of Belgrade in 1920 also makes him the first professor of history to have graduated from a Serbian university.

Having been a staunch supporter of the Yugoslav monarchy, he joined the Chetnik movement in 1941 and subsequently relocated to Montenegro. There, he served as an advisor to Blažo Đukanović and worked within the various ministries of the Independent State of Montenegro with the hope of establishing a foothold for the monarchist forces in the region. On October 19, 1943 he was captured and shot by the Yugoslav Partisans at the Chetnik headquarters in the Ostrog Monastery.