Josif Pančić (
Serbian Cyrillic: Јосиф Панчић; April 17, 1814 – February 25, 1888) was a
Serbianbotanist, a doctor of medicine, a lecturer at the
Great School (the future
University of Belgrade), and the first president of the
Serbian Royal Academy.[1] He extensively documented the
flora of Serbia, and is credited with having classified many species of plants which were unknown to the botanical community at that time.[2] Pančić is credited with discovering the
Serbian spruce. He is regarded as the father of Serbian botany.[3]
After finishing elementary school in
Gospić, he went on to the
lyceum in
Rijeka, and then continued classes in the Regia Academica Scientiarum in
Zagreb (1830). He graduated in 1842 in
Budapest in
medicine. In addition to other courses, Pančić attended
botany courses, taught by the then renowned botany professor, Joseph Sadler (Sadler József).[6] Later, recalling those early lectures, he wrote:[3]
And since the first course in botany I started to love botany and decided to become a botanist, so I started to botanize excitedly and to collect plants around Pest and Buda,...
Work
While studying about botany at the
Natural History Museum in Vienna, Pančić became acquainted with the Serbian linguist
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić who wrote him a letter of recommendation to the Serbian authorities, in order to fulfill his wish to settle in the
Principality of Serbia to study Nature.[7] In May 1846, he arrived in Serbia where for the first seven years he worked as a physician in rural area. In 1847, he asked to be released from his Austrian citizenship and applied for Serbian citizenship, the same year he met his future wife Lyudmila Mileva.[8]
He later became rector of the Great School (the future University of Belgrade) and the founder of the Institutes of
Mineralogy and
Geology, Zoologial and
Botanical Departments and of the experimental botanical gardens in Belgrade.[9]
Pančić extensively documented the
flora of Serbia and is credited with having classified many species of plants that were unknown to the botanical community at the time. He discovered a total of 47 valid species new to science.[11] The crowning achievement of Pančić floristic studies was the "Flora of the Principality of Serbia" (Flora Kneževine Srbije) published in 1874, while a supplement was added ten years later. His explorations marked the golden age of Serbia's botany.[11]
His most significant discovery was the
Serbian Spruce,[12] which he discovered near
Zaovine on the
Tara Mountain in 1875. He firmly established Serbian botany among European sciences. He ascertained that Serbia's flora was rich and worthy of further studies.[11] During the
Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–1878), he was the Chief Physician of the Belgrade Hospital.
He is said to have "fallen in love" with
Kopaonik, which he visited 16 times between 1851 and 1886.[13] Pančić was named the first president of the
Serbian Royal Academy formed on April 5, 1887. He requested the opening of the
Botanical garden "
Jevremovac" in
Belgrade.[14] Pančić died on 25 February 1888, his last wish was to be buried in the Kopaonik Mountain.[15]
Legacy
A
mausoleum of Josif Pančić was erected at the highest peak of Kopaonik in 1951 by the Academy of Science, the
University of Belgrade and the Hiking club,[16] with the inscription:
Honoring Pančić's request, we moved him here to rest forever. Here is his message to the Serbian youth: "Only with a thorough understanding and analysis of the nature of our country will they show how much they love and honor their homeland".
^Josif Pančić, Budislav Tatič, Božidar P. M. Ćurčić (1998). Sabrana dela Josifa Pančića: Život i delo Josifa Pančića. Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva. p. 13. Проф. др Љубиша М. Глишић ЖИВОТ И РАД ВЕЛИКОГ НАУЧНИКА И РОДОЉУБА др ЈОСИФА ПАНЧИЋА Према предању, Панчићи су пореклом из Херцеговине и од давнина су се доселили у село Угрине, које се налази на ...{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
Nikola Diklić.
"Josif Pančić"(PDF). Lives and Work of the Serbian Scientists. 1: 3–61. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Josif Pančić.
Josif Pančić (
Serbian Cyrillic: Јосиф Панчић; April 17, 1814 – February 25, 1888) was a
Serbianbotanist, a doctor of medicine, a lecturer at the
Great School (the future
University of Belgrade), and the first president of the
Serbian Royal Academy.[1] He extensively documented the
flora of Serbia, and is credited with having classified many species of plants which were unknown to the botanical community at that time.[2] Pančić is credited with discovering the
Serbian spruce. He is regarded as the father of Serbian botany.[3]
After finishing elementary school in
Gospić, he went on to the
lyceum in
Rijeka, and then continued classes in the Regia Academica Scientiarum in
Zagreb (1830). He graduated in 1842 in
Budapest in
medicine. In addition to other courses, Pančić attended
botany courses, taught by the then renowned botany professor, Joseph Sadler (Sadler József).[6] Later, recalling those early lectures, he wrote:[3]
And since the first course in botany I started to love botany and decided to become a botanist, so I started to botanize excitedly and to collect plants around Pest and Buda,...
Work
While studying about botany at the
Natural History Museum in Vienna, Pančić became acquainted with the Serbian linguist
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić who wrote him a letter of recommendation to the Serbian authorities, in order to fulfill his wish to settle in the
Principality of Serbia to study Nature.[7] In May 1846, he arrived in Serbia where for the first seven years he worked as a physician in rural area. In 1847, he asked to be released from his Austrian citizenship and applied for Serbian citizenship, the same year he met his future wife Lyudmila Mileva.[8]
He later became rector of the Great School (the future University of Belgrade) and the founder of the Institutes of
Mineralogy and
Geology, Zoologial and
Botanical Departments and of the experimental botanical gardens in Belgrade.[9]
Pančić extensively documented the
flora of Serbia and is credited with having classified many species of plants that were unknown to the botanical community at the time. He discovered a total of 47 valid species new to science.[11] The crowning achievement of Pančić floristic studies was the "Flora of the Principality of Serbia" (Flora Kneževine Srbije) published in 1874, while a supplement was added ten years later. His explorations marked the golden age of Serbia's botany.[11]
His most significant discovery was the
Serbian Spruce,[12] which he discovered near
Zaovine on the
Tara Mountain in 1875. He firmly established Serbian botany among European sciences. He ascertained that Serbia's flora was rich and worthy of further studies.[11] During the
Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–1878), he was the Chief Physician of the Belgrade Hospital.
He is said to have "fallen in love" with
Kopaonik, which he visited 16 times between 1851 and 1886.[13] Pančić was named the first president of the
Serbian Royal Academy formed on April 5, 1887. He requested the opening of the
Botanical garden "
Jevremovac" in
Belgrade.[14] Pančić died on 25 February 1888, his last wish was to be buried in the Kopaonik Mountain.[15]
Legacy
A
mausoleum of Josif Pančić was erected at the highest peak of Kopaonik in 1951 by the Academy of Science, the
University of Belgrade and the Hiking club,[16] with the inscription:
Honoring Pančić's request, we moved him here to rest forever. Here is his message to the Serbian youth: "Only with a thorough understanding and analysis of the nature of our country will they show how much they love and honor their homeland".
^Josif Pančić, Budislav Tatič, Božidar P. M. Ćurčić (1998). Sabrana dela Josifa Pančića: Život i delo Josifa Pančića. Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva. p. 13. Проф. др Љубиша М. Глишић ЖИВОТ И РАД ВЕЛИКОГ НАУЧНИКА И РОДОЉУБА др ЈОСИФА ПАНЧИЋА Према предању, Панчићи су пореклом из Херцеговине и од давнина су се доселили у село Угрине, које се налази на ...{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
Nikola Diklić.
"Josif Pančić"(PDF). Lives and Work of the Serbian Scientists. 1: 3–61. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Josif Pančić.