Aleksandar Kuzmanović (Subotica, 3.2.1838 – Subotica, 27.4.1894) was an officer and a landowner. He was the son of lawyer Jovan and Ekaterina Milinović (IAS, F:451. 196. 259). He became an orphan as a child, so his aunts, Emilija and Kristina Milinović took care of his education. After finishing primary and grammar school in his hometown, his aunts sent Aleksandar to a military institute. He was shot in the arm as a first lieutenant in the battle of Solferino (1859), after which he lost two fingers on his right hand. At the age of 26, that is in 1864, Kuzmanović became a captain. He participated in the war of Austria and Prussia in this rank in 1866, which ended with the defeat of the Habsburg monarchy, just like the previous war with the Italians. During the government of Count Gyula Andrássy when the Hungarian Defence Army was being organised, on the suggestion of Colonel Richárd Gelich, he was sent an invitation to become a Hungarian soldier, which he accepted. The first task in the newly formed army led Kuzmanović to his hometown, where he became commander of the IV Battalion of Hungarian soldiers. It is not know how much time he remained on this mission, but it is certain that he took the opportunity to start a family in Subotica. In the spring of 1874, he married Teréz Regényi. From their marriage there were born daughters Nelli, Georgina, Margaréta and Erzsébet. His military commitments led him away from Subotica. In Novi Sad he got the rank of major, in Vinkovci he was the commander of the brigade, and he finished his career in Zagreb in the rank of lieutenant field marshal. He got retired in 1893, after 35 years of military service (Grlica 1995).
Mirko Grlica
Bibliography:
Mirko Grlica (1995): Aleksandar Kuzmanović – subotički general i džentlmen, Rukovet XLI. 1-3. 49-50.