About Ki Hajar Dewantara
Raden Mas Soewardi Soerjaningrat (2 May 1889 – 26 April 1959), better known by the name Ki Hajar Dewantara since 1922, was a leading Indonesian independence movement activist, writer, columnist, politician, and pioneer of education for native Indonesians in Dutch colonial times. He founded the Taman Siswa school, an institution that provided education for indigenous commoners, which otherwise was limited to the Javanese aristocracy and the Dutch colonials. He was honored as a National Hero of Indonesia by Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, on 28 November 1959. == Early life == Soewardi was born into Javanese aristocracy, his family belonged to the royal house of Pakualaman. He was one of Prince Paku Alam III's grandsons through his father, GPH Soerjaningrat. Thanks to his family's priyayi (Javanese nobility) background, he was able to access colonial public education, a luxury that was unattainable by most of the common population in the Indies. He graduated with a basic education in ELS (Dutch Primary School). Then he continued his study at STOVIA, a medical school for native students. However, he failed to graduate because of illness. Later he worked as a journalist and wrote for many newspapers, including Sediotomo, Midden Java, De Expres, Oetoesan Indies, Kaoem Moeda, Tjahaja Timoer, and Poesara.
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