William Klinger (24 September 1972 − 31 January 2015) was a Croatian historian^[1] who specialized in modern Croatian and Yugoslav history^[2] as well as history of communism and nationalism.

Biography

Klinger was born on 24 September 1972 in Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia,^[3] but his family roots are reportedly in Pakrac and of German ethnic descent. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Trieste in 1997 with a BA in history, while attending also the University of Klagenfurt due to a stipend he received from the Austrian government. He gained master's degree at the Central European University in Budapest and doctoral degree at the European University Institute in Florence, where he wrote his doctoral dissertation titled "Negotiating the Nation: Fiume, from Autonomism to State making 1848-1924".^[2]

Klinger lived in the Italian town of Gradisca d'Isonzo. An independent researcher, he was employed by the Centro di Ricerche Storiche di Rovigno (Center for Historical Research of Rovinj).^[2] Aside from Italian and Croatian Klinger also spoke German, English, Friulian, Russian and Slovene.^[2]

Klinger was found with a gunshot wound to the head on 31 January 2015 in Astoria Park in Queens, New York, where he had been attending a conference on former Yugoslavia, the Second World War and the post-war Balkans.^[4] He died the same day at Elmhurst Hospital, where he was taken after he was found lying near the park's public pool.^[5] His acquaintance Alexander Bonich was questioned by the police on the following day, when he admitted to killing Klinger.^[6] At trial, the prosecution accused Bonich of luring Klinger to the United States on false pretenses - Bonich offered to get Klinger an apartment in Astoria and set him up with a university job if Klinger gave him money. Klinger wired 68,000 euros to Bonich for a nonexistent apartment and job; the two apparently had a falling out after the fraud was discovered leading to Bonich shooting Klinger.^[6]