Stjepan Krasić

Stjepan Krasić (6 October 1938) is Croatian historian, theologian and Roman Catholic friar of the Order of Preachers, member of the Croatian Dominican Province and member of the International Academy of Engineering.

Early life
Stjepan Krasić was born in Čitluk, in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (present Bosnia and Herzegovina) to Ivan and Luce née Pervan. In Čitluk he attended elementary school and from 1950 to 1957 continued his education in the Classical Grammar School in Bol. After serving a military service, from 1960 he studied philosophy in Dubrovnik and theology in Zagreb and at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. The study of history Krasić attended at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Scientific vocation
In addition to the theological study, Krasić also attended the Vatican School of Palaeography, Diplomatics and Archive Administration. Krasić received his first doctorate at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas making a historical dissertation on the subject of the Dominican Congregation of Dubrovnik in 1970. In 1985 Krasić received a doctorate in the field of history by dissertation about Stjepan Gradić. His professorship Krasić started as a research assistant in 1973 at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Ten years later he became a full professor teaching history and methodology of scientific work.

In the book General University of the Dominican Order in Zadar or Universitas Jadertina 1396 - 1807 published in 1996 Krasić discovered that in Zadar the first Croatian university was founded in 1396. It had faculties of philosophy and theology with the privilege of giving the highest academic titles of baccalaureate and doctorate. His work had a great scientific and cultural importance for the Croatian society. Until then, the University of Zagreb founded in 1669 was considered the oldest in Croatia. Based on that discovery the Croatian Parliament in 2003 awarded the title of the university to the Faculty of Humanities in Zadar.

In October 2015, Krasic has been unanimously elected as a member of the International Academy of Engineering because of his distinguished studies in the humanities which has uncovered many hitherto unknown aspects of the history of engineering and technology.

Honours

 * Zadar City Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1996
 * Gold medal of the Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar in 1996
 * Order of the Croatian Daystar by the Republic of Croatia in 1998
 * Honorary Doctorate of the University of Zadar for outstanding contributions in the field of humanities in 2005
 * Lifetime Achievement Award of Dubrovnik-Neretva County in 2009

Books

 * Congregatio Ragusina Ord. Praed. 1487-1550 (1972)
 * Stjepan Gradić (1613-1683). Život i djelo (1987)
 * Ivan Dominik Stratiko (1732-1799). Život i djelo (1991)
 * Dominikanci u srednjovjekovnoj Bosni (1996)
 * Generalno učilište Dominikanskog reda u Zadru ili "Universitas Jadertina" (1396 - 1807) (1996)
 * Dominikanci. Povijest Reda u hrvatskim krajevima (1997)
 * Pet stoljeća dominikanske nazočnosti u Korčuli: 1498. - 1998 (1998)
 * Povijest Dubrovačke metropolije i dubrovačkih nadbiskupa (1999)
 * Počelo je u Rimu. Katolička obnova i normiranje hrvatskog jezika u XVII. st. (2009)
 * Nastanak i razvoj školstva od antike do srednjega vijeka (2012)
 * Prag i Zadar: dva europska sveučilišna središta u XIV. stoljeću / Prague and Zadar : two European University Centres in the 14th Century (2015)