Добривоје Божић : (1886–1967)

Th is paper systematically presents the life and work of the mechanical
\nengineer Dobrivoje (Savatije) Božić, who was born in Raška (Serbia) on 4
\nJanuary 1886. According to his achievements in the fi eld of mechanical
\nengineering, above all railroads, and also in the fi eld of automatic control (as
\nper today’s classifi cation of the sciences), aviation and power supply, Engr.
\nBožić was one of the greatest inventors in Serbian history (by the number of
\npatents he was just behind Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin). At the same time
\nthe paper off ers testimonies implying that Dobrivoje Božić, in his time, was one
\nof the leading experts in the fi eld of braking systems on railway trains, like the
\nAmerican scientist George Westinghouse, inventor of the air brake. In Europe
\nthere was no scientist that could match him.
\nTh e paper is divided into four chapters, titled as follows: Biography,
\nAnalysis of his contributions to science and technology, Responses to Engr.
\nBožić’s scientifi c achievements in Serbia and abroad, and Bibliography.
\nWithin the fi rst chapter titled Biografi ja (Biography), the author gives an
\nanalysis of the roots and the social and historical context in which lived the
\nfamily of Savatije Božić, father of the inventor and in particular Dobrivoje
\nBožić himself. It is not by chance that the role of the protopresbyter-stavrophor
\nSavatije Božić is particularly highlighted, as a teacher, priest, builder and fi ghter
\nfor the liberation of Serbian people and the independence of Serbia. In this
\nchapter the author also elaborates on the schooling and education of young
\nDobrivoje Božić from the little town of Raška, through Kraljevo and Kragujevac
\nand fi nally up to Karlsruhe and Dresden (Germany). Th e chapter also contains
\nthe names of his professors and fellow students who made major contributions
\nto world science, such as Professor Rudolf Diesel (inventor of the diesel engine)
\nand the then student Lavoslav Ružička (later received the Nobel Prize for
\nchemistry). His professional career began in 1911 when he found employment
\nin the Serbian state railroad in Niš, and ended with establishing his private
\ncompany in Belgrade where he was developing a railway brake. His career and
\nlife was interrupted by four wars that were fought in the territory of Serbia
\n(both Balkan wars and both world wars). Because of the wars, he was faced
\nwith a number of diffi culties concerning his professional and private life (he
\nfought in the wars, was captured in Hungary, emigrated, his daughter passed
\naway, his entire property was seized etc.). He died on 13 October 1967 and was
\nburied in Belgrade at the age of 82. Just before World War II Božić found
\nhimself in a narrow circle of the engineering elite in Belgrade, thanks to his
\npatents, the internationally certifi ed brake “Božić” and a licensing agreement
\nwith “Škoda”, which brought him great fi nancial profi t. Th is chapter ends with a description of Engr. Božić’s family life, which was full of extreme
\ncontradictions and tragedies, from a happy marriage in his forties, beautiful life
\nwith his wife Radmila and their two children, to the death of his daughter
\nVesna (in his absence because they fl ed Belgrade and went into the interior of
\nthe country during World War II), parting ways with his wife aft er the birth of
\ntheir second son in Canada (while they were refugees in Canada aft er fl eeing
\nSerbia in the aft ermath of the World War II) and his return to Serbia without
\nhis family in his seventies. Eventually he died alone in 1967.
\nTh e second chapter gives a detailed description of all Engr. Božić’s
\ncontributions to science and technology, in particular in the fi eld of braking
\nsystems on railway trains, as follows:
\n– he off ered an original solution for a triple valve as the main component
\nof a break,
\n– he was the fi rst one who defi ned and devised a brake in which the
\nbreaking force was automatically adapted to the weight/loading of
\nfreight cars on freight trains,
\n– he was the fi rst one who defi ned a brake in which the breaking force
\nwas automatically adapted to the speed of passenger-carrying coaches
\non passenger trains and
\n– he designed the simplest and most reliable brake controller, as the
\nsecond most important component (aft er solutions distributor) of a
\npneumatic brake.
\nOn the basis of his inventions and original design solutions derived from
\nbrake prototypes, accompanied with extensive research, the International
\nUnion of Railways (IUR) approved his patent for the Božić brake in 1928. On
\nthe basis of this certifi cate a licensing agreement with “Škoda” was concluded
\nand as of that moment his brake has been used as a basis for further
\ndevelopment of pneumatic brake on railroad cars up to date.
\nTh is chapter further describes Engr. Božić’s contributions to science in
\nreference to a pioneer undertaking to develop a pulsejet engine, as well as his
\npatent solutions referring to both the pulsejet engine and gas turbines. Th e
\nproportion and importance of his contribution to the development of the
\npulsejet engine has remained hidden under the World War II veil of secrecy
\nuntil the present day.
\nIn the third chapter the author deals with the analysis of responses of
\nscientifi c, professional and cultural public in Serbia and abroad in reference to
\nEngr. Božić’s scientific achievements, from the very beginning of his
\nprofessional career in 1911, up to the present day, that is, even now, a halfcentury
\naft er his death. Even though these responses have scientifi c, professional
\nand cultural aspect, they also have social and political aspect, given that the time in history when Engr. Božić lived was fraught with a number of social and
\neconomic changes that took place in the territory of Serbia. Th ese responses are
\nparticularly characterized by the presentation of facts referring to the attempts
\nof “stealing” Engr. Božić’s ideas for the pulsejet engine, as well as the rejection
\nof his requests for the production of his brake and jet engine in Serbia, in the
\nprewar and postwar period alike. Nevertheless, for sure, all these responses
\nunequivocally show that Engr. Božić was a world-renowned and recognized
\nexpert in the fi eld of railway braking systems.
\nAt the end of the paper, the extensive bibliographic data of Engr. Božić’s
\nlife and work are given, which are divided into several groups, as follows:
\npatents (approved and unapproved), international certifi cates, sources of
\ndocumentation, manuals and instructions, books, journals, proceedings and
\nnewspaper articles.
\nEven though these data are not fi nal, they laid a sound foundation for
\nfurther research into the life and work of Dobrivoje Božić.

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