Milan Rastislav Štefánik (Slovak: [ˈmilan ˈrascislaw ˈʂcefaːɲik] ; 21 July 1880 – 4 May 1919) was a Slovak politician, diplomat, aviator and astronomer. During World War I, he served at the same time as a general in the French Army and as Minister of War for Czechoslovakia. As one of the leading members of the Czechoslovak National Council (the resistance government), he contributed decisively to the cause of Czechoslovak sovereignty, since the status of Czech- and Slovak-populated territories was one of those in question until shortly before the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918. His personal motto was "To Believe, To Love, To Work" (Slovak: Veriť, milovať, pracovať).
Štefánik was born in Kosaras, Nyitra County, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now Košariská, Slovakia), on 21 July 1880. He had 11 brothers and sisters, two of whom died at a young age. His father, Pavol Štefánik, was a local Lutheran pastor, and his mother was Albertína Jurenková. He attended schools in Bratislava, Sopron and Szarvas.
In 1898, he began studying construction engineering in Prague. In 1900, he transferred his studies to Charles University, where he attended lectures in astronomy, physics, optics, mathematics and philosophy. For the 1902 summer semester, he went to university in Zürich. The Prague years had a great impact on Štefánik because he met many important personalities there. The philosophy lectures were given by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the future first president of Czechoslovakia, who inspired Štefánik with the idea of co-operation between the Czechs and the Slovaks. Furthermore, Štefánik very actively participated in the work of the Slovak student association, Detvan, (and within Detvan, the so-called Hlasists group); he became acquainted with Vavro Šrobár. His studies were financed largely by Czech associations, including Českoslovanská jednota (Czechoslavic Unity) and Radhošť since he could not afford them himself. In Prague, he wrote political and artistic texts in which he tried to inform the Czechs of the disastrous situation of the Slovaks at that time. He graduated in 1904 with a doctorate in philosophy and with knowledge of astronomy: his thesis is about a star that was discovered in the Cassiopeia constellation in 1572.
In 1904, he went to Paris to find a job in astronomy with a recommendation from a Czech professor who was known in Paris. Initially, he had no money and no command of French, but he was nevertheless able to obtain a job at the famous Paris-Meudon Observatory after its director, Pierre Janssen, one of the cofounders of astrophysics, saw Štefánik's talent. Štefánik owed to Janssen and Camille Flammarion his social, political and scientific career. The observatory was the most important centre for astronomy at the time so he gained massive prestige from his job.
Between 20 June and 4 July 1905, Štefánik climbed Mont Blanc (he did so several more times in the following years) to observe the Moon and Mars. Then, he took part in an official French expedition to observe and record a full eclipse of the Sun in Alcossebre, Spain. He thus established his own reputation in French scientific society. He worked with Gaston Millochau, a member of the Académie Française, which made some of its members read his work. His studies and the results of his observations were published in reports to the Académie, and he received several awards for them. Later, he was invited to an international astronomer conference in Oxford on solar research. Between 1906 and 1908, he was co-director of the Mont Blanc observatories company.
In 1907, Štefánik received the Prix Jules Janssen, the highest award of the Société astronomique de France, the French astronomical society.
At the end of 1907, however, Janssen died and Štefánik lost his job. Since 1908, he had been charged by the French authorities with astronomical and meteorological observations, (mainly observations of solar eclipses) and political tasks in various countries all over the world, including (Algeria, Morocco, Turkistan, Russia, India, the United States, Panama, Brazil, Ecuador, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, and Tonga). In Tahiti, he also built an observatory and a network of meteorological stations (rumour has it that much of his time in the Pacific Ocean was spent on spying on German positions). Between the trips, he regularly returned home to Košariská (the last time in 1913 for his father's funeral). In South America (especially in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador), he had an opportunity to show his diplomatic skills for the first time.
In 1912, a mission from the Bureau des Longitudes, based in France, was led by Milan Rastislav Štefánik, with the assistance of Jaromír Králiček. Štefánik and Králiček arrived in Rio de Janeiro aboard the French steamship Amazone on 10 September 1912. Their equipment crates were promptly cleared by customs with the authorization of the Brazilian government. Štefánik brought with great consideration a set of equipment intended for the Brazilian National Observatory, which Morize had ordered from manufacturers in January 1912 to be used by the Brazilian team in the observation of the eclipse. This equipment included a Mailhat telescope with an impressive 8-meter focal length and a 15-centimeter aperture, coupled with a coelostat from the same manufacturer. The French team had the objectives of photographing the solar corona and conducting spectroscopic studies. They set up in a location near Passa Quatro (Minas Gerais), where they joined the main team of the National Observatory's expedition. In the city of Passa Quatro, there is a bust in honor of the astronomer Milan Rastislav Štefánik. What drew attention was that their equipment crates were immediately released by customs, thanks to the authorization of the Brazilian government.
Milan Rastislav Štefánik showed great generosity by bringing a set of equipment intended for the Brazilian National Observatory to be used by the Brazilian team in observing the eclipse. This set included an impressive Mailhat telescope with an 8-meter focal length and a 15-centimeter aperture. Štefánik's presence and his equipment were valuable contributions to the advancement of science and astronomical research in Brazil at that time.
Štefánik worked in astrophysics and solar physics, and became well known for his spectral analysis of the Sun's corona. He was involved in perfecting spectrography and has been considered a predecessor of Bernard Lyot. He also attempted to construct a machine for colour photography and cinematography, and he had his design patented in 1911.
In addition to his scientific missions overseas, he also performed diplomatic tasks. He established contacts and friendships with leading scientific, artistic, political, diplomatic and business personalities. He participated in the establishment of business enterprises in France and other countries. His friends included physicist Henri Poincaré, Aymar de la Baume, Joseph Vallot (the richest man in France), architect Gustave Eiffel, Roland Bonaparte, Prime Minister Camille Chautemps, a French entrepreneur called Devousoud from Chamonix, American astronomer and admiral Simon Newcomb and American diplomat David Jayne Hill. In 1912, he received French citizenship, recognition and access to the French élite. On 20 October 1917, he was made a Grand Officier of the Legion of Honour. At the same time, he had some personal problems and a serious stomach illness, which did not get better even after two surgeries. Moreover, World War I had started in Europe.
Štefánik believed that defeat of Austria-Hungary and of Imperial Germany would offer an opportunity for the Slovaks and the Czechs to gain independence from Austria-Hungary after the war. Therefore, he joined the French army and trained to become an aviator. He flew MFS-54s for the 10th Army on the Artois and was later transferred to MFS 99 Squadron on the Serbian Front. In May 1915, he flew a total of 30 missions over enemy territory. The Serbian campaign was unsuccessful, but French aviator Louis Paulhan is credited with the world's first medevac by flying the seriously-ill Štefánik to safety.