New York » Njujork | 59 Indians? These were the thoughts that comfortedme, such that I, so reassured, grew frommy coat.” Promised land His first major victory was over the cold, which caught himby surprise on the first night of the voyage. He hugged the ship’s funnel each night and that helped him, with hope, to first catch sight of the city fromwhich he expected a lot... “On the fourteenth day, early in themorning, the low coast of Long Island emerged. In the colourful crowd of excited immigrants, there was probably no happier man than me when I saw the Promised Land. It was a clear, mild and sunny Marchmorning, and as we approached the New York harbour, it was as though the warm rays of the sunmelted the cold that had accumulated inmy body from constant exposure to the icy winds of the North Atlantic. I felt like a different person, and each new scene that emerged from the ship during the approach to the New World seemed to herald a warm greeting for me. The scene that then appeared in front of my eyes was new and amazing. The first impressions fromBudapest and Prague were pale images compared to this majestic reality that appeared tome in the New York harbour... The city on both sides of the coast seemed to bubble with various jobs.” Franklin and Lincoln When he stood, without anywhere and anyone of his own, in front of American government officials, they asked him if he knew anyone in the Promised Land. He said that he knew Franklin, Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was an answer that opened the door of America to him. “You picked good friends,” said the customs officer, deciding to release him to pursue a new life in New York. “A young immigrant, as I was then, does not start anything until he spends all themoney he has brought. I had brought five cents and I immediately spent that on a slice of plumpie, which in fact was only such by name. It contained few plums andmore stones! And if I had brought five hundred dollars, it would only have takenme a littlemore time to spend it, and the struggle for survival that awaitedme would have remained the same. For a young immigrant, it is nomisfortune to disembark penniless; for a youngman it is not amisfortune at all to be without money, if he has decided for himself to take the road to an independent life, provided he has within himself enough strength to overcome all difficulties with which he will be confronted,” wrote Pupin. Professorship, Pulitzer, medal His path led through gruelling physical work, endless learning and development to Columbia University, where he studied and soon became a professor. He was a professor for a full 40 years. He wrote that his goal was tomake people better than himself. Many Nobel Laureates, many great scientists of the 20th century, were Pupin’s students. “It meant a lot that this college was in New York, which inmy imagination was muchmore than any other city in the world. My first victory on American soil was achieved there, in New York, when I fought for the right to wear my red fez onmy head.” America didn’t forget Pupin’s contributions as a scientist and professor. Inmany different ways, the name of this boy from Idvor is inscribed among immortals on the other side of the world. The large building of the physics laboratory at Columbia University, a huge and prestigious edifice, bears his name. And not only that, but also the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1966 declared the Pupin Laboratories building a national historicmonument. On the centenary of Pupin’s birth, Columbia University established the “Pupin Medal”, which is awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions. A crater on themoon also carries Pupin’s name, and as of this year a small planet too. A Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Pupin’s autobiography, which by no coincidence bears the title “From Immigrant to Inventor”. He was the first Serb to receive this prestigious award. It sounds amazing that parts of his autobiography were required reading in U.S. schools for decades... Za mladog doseljenika nije nesreća biti bez novca, pod uslovom da u sebi ima dovoljno snage da savlada sve teškoće For a young immigrant it is no misfortune to be without money, provided they have within themselves enough strength to overcome all difficulties
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