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Zlatko Baloković (March 21, 1895 - March 29 1965) was a Croatian violinist.
He was born in Zagreb, Croatia, (at the time part of Austria-Hungary), and began violin lessons at age ten. Progress made was such that after three year he was sent to Prague to continue studies at the "Meisterschule" under gudance of Otkar Ševčik. In 1913, already excellent and renown the invitation came to him to play with the Moscow Philharmonic. That year he won the annual Austrian "Staatspreis" and soon artistic tours to Berlin, Vienna - Wien - Beč, Genoa were made. Trieste - Trst was where he remained during the World War I. After living in Great Britain from 1920 - 1923, he accepted an offer for an American tour, so on January 1, 1924, he left for New York. In 1926, he married Joyce Borden, heiress to the Borden family fortune. 1920s and 1930s were the years when the couple toured the Eurpean continent, performing predominantely for the continent's royalty.
Upon the outbreak of the World War II, he settled with their adopted children at Hillside Farm in Camden, Maine and became involved in many wartime political efforts and caired six particular orginizations: the Yugoslav Division of the U.S. Treasury War Bond Drives; the russian War Relief's Nationalities Division, the United Committee of South Slavic Americans; the American Slav Congress of Greater New York; the American Croatian Congress, and the American Committee for Yugoslav Relief (with Eleanor Roosevelt as the president). He advocated for Tito's Yugoslav cause. In November 1944, aided by Adlai Stevenson, (his nephew by marriage) he went to Washington demanding the shipment of medical supplies to the resistance forces. After seeing President Roosevelt, Vice President Wallace, Secretary of State Stettinius, Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy and admiral Land, the deal was done and the equested supplies soon reached their destination.
In 1946 couple returned to Yugoslavia as official of the American Committee for Yugoslav Relief and were showered with that nation's gratitude. He gave 36 concerts and hundreds of speeches, while travelling the entire country in a private railroad car. He personally, came to know many high-ranking figures in the Yugoslav government, including Marshall Tito, also Georgi Dimitrov of Bulgaria, Enver Hoxha of Albania
Upon return to US in 1947 he made coast-to-coast tour to advocate for the people he met. As a result of the ties to Yugoslav government andmembership in wartime organizations had come to be considered "subversive". The couple was labelled as "fellow travellers" by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1949 but fter an ordeal both were cleared. In 1954, he made a second "jubilee" tour. Tito presented him with the Grand Cross of the Yugoslav Flag in recognition of his artisitic and humanitarian achievements benefiting nations.
