PENKALA

In 1900 the young Eduard Penkala arrived in Zagreb, then a town of about 60,000 inhabitants in all. Born of Polish and Czech origins in what is now Slovakia, he soon showed solidarity with his new fellow citizens, due to the political troubles. A chemist by profession, he invented over 80 patents in various fields: from a hot water bottle, a precursor of the vacuum flask and a rotating toothbrush to medicines, detergents, insecticides, a brake system, the first anode battery, a compound for gramophone records and a fountain pen. 45 years before Sir Christopher Cockerell and his hovercraft, he came up with a craft that floated on air, and the principles of the helicopter. Croats were indebted to him for his patriotism, his invention and his construction of the first domestic aircraft, only a few years after the Wright brothers, as well as his role in the industrial development of the country in the early 20th century.