Ksenija Atanasijević | Origin of Street Names

Ksenija Atanasijević (1894 - 1981) was a philosopher, the first woman to earn a doctorate at the University of Belgrade, and the first female university professor in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

One of the brightest women in Serbia was born into a distinguished Belgrade family of intellectuals. She lost her mother at birth and her father when she was only 12 years old, so she was raised by an unusually caring and dedicated stepmother.

Even during her education, she showed exceptional intellectual capacity, further nurtured by her friendship and upbringing alongside future great minds such as Rastko and Nadežda Petrović.

Her brilliant mind, profound intelligence, and thirst for knowledge were noticed early on in Ksenija's philosophy studies by the renowned professor, philosopher, and mathematician, the brilliant yet somewhat arrogant Branislav Petronijević. He represented a person of admiration, a professional role model, and one could say an idol for Ksenija, while she was seen as his successor and a kind of inspiration. Moreover, rumors circulated within academic circles of the capital at that time about the existence of deeper mutual feelings between the two intellectuals, although these were never confirmed.

However, this idyllic intellectual bond between the professor and the student lasted until the moment when Ksenija Atanasijević somehow threatened the "throne" and touched the vanity of the great professor. Not because someone "smarter" than him appeared, but because it was a woman.

Whether due to jealousy or a traditional and conservative view of women's roles in Belgrade society at the time, Ksenija Atanasijević experienced severe harassment during the defense of her doctoral dissertation by the members of the examination board, which included not only Petronijević but also some of the greatest names in Serbian science - Milutin Milanković, Nikola Popović, and Veselin Čajkanović. However, her mentor excelled in cruelty.

Successfully overcoming all challenges, underestimation, and misogyny of distinguished professors, Ksenija Atanasijević earned her doctorate, and her work on the learning and ideas of Giordano Bruno received great recognition, even from the renowned Encyclopedia Britannica. Ksenija was appointed as a university professor, but her "persecution" continued in the following years, with speculations of dissertation plagiarism, leading to the annulment of her appointment. Among the few professors who provided her with insufficient support were geographer Jovan Cvijić, mathematician Mihailo Petrović Alas, and ethnologist Tihomir Đorđević. After a long struggle against male egos, or rather "windmills," Ksenija withdrew from the University and continued to write and publish works under a different name.

Undeserved injustices towards this woman of brilliant mind persisted even after World War II when she fell out of favor with the new authorities by refusing to join the communists. After a brief period of imprisonment, she "only" suffered years of loss of civil rights, and her books were confiscated.

Devoting her life to science, Ksenija Atanasijević married late in her years. She passed away in 1981 and was buried in the family tomb at the New Cemetery in Belgrade. Without any descendants or anyone to visit and maintain her resting place, her grave was disturbed after a few years, and the plot was sold.

She bequeathed her entire scientific and literary legacy to the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Today, a small blind alley in the Mirijevo neighborhood of Belgrade bears the name of this great scientist.