Petar Lorini (Sali, 1850 – Belgrade, 1921) was a prominent Croatian expert in marine fisheries and one of the founders of modern fishing on the eastern Adriatic. He completed Teacher Training School in Dubrovnik and a teaching course in Zadar, after which he worked in Korčula and Kotor. In 1873, he was appointed headmaster of the Public School in Sali, where that same year he introduced the Croatian language into teaching and municipal administration. He also introduced four-year schooling, which he opened to girls in 1885. In addition, he established and managed a post office. Lorini served as a commissioner of Matica hrvatska and contributed to the Croatian Encyclopedia (Osijek, 1887–1890). Alongside his work in education and municipal administration, he taught local fishermen and farmers viticulture and olive cultivation, and organized evening courses for adults on fisheries, agriculture, livestock breeding, beekeeping, sericulture, science and language, attended by around a hundred participants.

Mario Puratić (Sumartin, 1904 – Santa Barbara, USA, 1993) was a giant of Croatian and global maritime culture and history. Born into a modest family of fishermen and laborers in Sumartin on the island of Brač, he emigrated at an early age to the United States, where his creativity and vision made him a world-renowned inventor. The experience of hard labor on California tuna boats in the mid-20th century awakened Puratić’s innate spirit of invention, leading him to design a device for hauling fishing nets from the sea. Until then, nets were pulled manually, requiring extreme strength and endurance.

Federiko Glavić (Šipan, 1847 – Dubrovnik, 1941), a Dubrovnik shipowner and philanthropist, was one of the key figures in the maritime and economic life of Dubrovnik and beyond in the first half of the 20th century. After earning his capital through hard work in Chile, he returned home and invested not only in shipping (Dubrovnik Steam Navigation Company), but also in banking (Dubrovnik Commercial Bank, 1902), industry (Dubravka Paint Factory, 1924), trade and other sectors. He was not only one of the wealthiest men of his time in Dubrovnik, but it can be said without reservation that he was a visionary. When, in 1909, there was a threat that many Croatian shipping companies would relocate to Trieste and lose part of their national identity, Glavić strongly resisted and, through significant investment, ensured that the headquarters of the largest southern Adriatic shipping company remained in Dubrovnik.

Fran Žaver Kesterčanek (Zagreb, 1856 – Zagreb, 1915) is one of the most important figures in forestry and hunting. During his dynamic career, he launched numerous activities in education, forestry administration and legislation, and wrote scientific and professional literature as well. He completed primary school and secondary education in Zagreb, graduating in 1874. Then he studied at the Forestry Academy in Mariabrunn and later at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, graduating in 1877. He was appointed a forestry trainee in Zagreb and later worked as a cadastral assessor. In 1878, he became an assistant at the Agricultural and Forestry College in Križevci, and in 1880 a lecturer in forestry. Kesterčanek advocated for reform of the institution and the transfer of forestry education to the University of Zagreb. As this idea was not accepted, in 1883, he left his teaching position in Križevci and took up the post of county chief forester in the Zagreb County administration. He returned in 1893 as a professor at the Agricultural and Forestry College in Križevci, continuing to advocate for the establishment of higher education in forestry in Croatia until the Forestry Academy was finally opened in 1898. He taught in Križevci until 1899, and in July 1900 he was appointed professor at the Forestry Academy.