I was born November 18th, 1886 in a part of the former Austria-Hungarian empire in a region now known as the Banat in Serbia. In my home country I was a scientist studying the new technology of electricity and also botany. I was a master gardener and carpenter. In 1908 I immigrated to America with my brother, Julius. First we lived in Carondelet, Missouri and later in Fresno, California. I enlisted in the army in 1909. My enlistment had me relocated to Key West, where I met my beautiful wife Lo