Pavao Tijan (1908-1997) was a Croatian encyclopaedist born in the city of Senj, close collaborator of Mate Ujevic on the project of Croatian Encyclopaedia (1938-1945). In 1945 he emigrated to Italy, where he published his book Martyrium Croatiae, Rome, 1946. In Spain he was a university professor in Madrid, and known as don Pablo Tijan Roncevic.

He is a holder of the prestigious medal of the Spanish King – Cruz de Alfonso X el Sabio (Encomienda con Place de Alfonso X El Sabio del Estado espanol por sus meritos en el campo de la cultura). Although being a foreigner, he was

• technical redactor of Encyclopedia de la Cultura Espanola, 1-5, Madrid, 1963-1968,
• close collaborator of editor in chief of the biographic encyclopaedia “Forjadores del Mundo Contemporaneo” (Forgers of the Contemporary World), 1-4, Madrid, 1959-1961,
• collaborator in Las grandes corrientes del pensamiento contemporaneo, Madrid, 1959, I, II,
• collaborator of Geografia Universal, Barcelona 1952.

Among his books we mention

• Proceso de formación de las naciones eslavas, Madrid, 1952
• Crisis del liberalismo en al Europa Central, el mito Masaryk, Madrid, 1958 (429 pp)

We mention a few of his articles published in the journal Arbor, Revista general de investigacion y cultura del CSIC, Madrid:

• La formación de las naciones balcanicas de hoy, Madrid, 1947
• La historiografia rusa dirigada por los Soviets, Madrid, 1949
• Evolucion del ideal eslavo en los ultimos cien anos, 1949
• El mito Masaryk, 1951
• Salamanca en la tradicion cultural croata, 1953
• Constantinopla y su imperio, 1954
• Ivo Andric, premio Nobel de Literatura 1961, 1962

More information about Pavao Tijan:
Nedjeljka Luetić Tijan: Život Pavla Tijana, Matica hrvatska, Zagreb 2014. ISBN 978-953-150-935-0


The town of Senj, Pjevačko tamburaško društvo Orlovo gnijezdo (Singing Tamburatza Society Eagle’s Nest),
Ožegovićianum School in Senj, 1919/1920. In the second row, 2nd from the left, is Pavao Tijan
(distinguished Croatian lexicographer) playing bisernica. Source of the photo [Tijan].