Jovan Rajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Рајић; September 21, 1726 – December 22, 1801) was a Serbian writer, historian, theologian, and pedagogue, considered one of the greatest Serbian academics of the 18th century.

[1] He was one of the most notable representatives of Serbian Baroque literature along with Zaharije Orfelin, Pavle Julinac, Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš, Simeon Končarević, Simeon Piščević, and others (although he worked in the first half of 18th century, as Baroque trends in Serbian literature emerged in the late 17th century).

[citation needed] Rajić was the forerunner to modern Serbian historiography,[2] and has been compared to the importance of Nikolay Karamzin to Russian historiography.

[3]