Post of Serbia unveils stamps dedicated to Tesla, Pupin

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic and US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill attended on Friday an unveiling of Post of Serbia commemorative stamps dedicated to Serbian scientists Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin.

The unveiling of the stamps - which bear the images of Tesla and Pupin - marks the day when, thanks to then US President Woodrow Wilson, the Serbian flag was flown over the White House in 1918.

It also commemorates the centenary of the first publication of Pupin's Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography, titled From Immigrant to Inventor, as well as 125 years since Tesla's first public demonstration of radio waves.

Hill said Tesla had become a household name in the US and that every American knew who Tesla was, just like they knew about Serbian basketball and tennis players.

He also said Pupin had done important things for Serbia-US ties during WWI and got Americans to help Serbia.

He noted that the relationship between Pupin and Wilson had led to the Serbian flag being flown over the White House and to a great relationship between the two countries.

Thanking the Post of Serbia for commemorating major anniversaries in Serbian history, Dacic said the stamps dedicated to Tesla and Pupin were "an important symbolic gesture."

"We are unveiling this issue (of the stamps) on the day when the Serbian flag was raised over the White House in 1918, which holds a special place in the memory of the Serbian and American public. It is not a fact we have used too much, and my impression is that we have even forgotten about it," Dacic said.

The stamps were designed by Post of Serbia artist and painter Boban Savic.