PETAR PROTICH - SECOND MEDICAL PROFESSOR IN ROMANIA

The genealogy of the Protich family is fairly old. They come from the town of Kratovo, in Macedonia. The grand-grandfather was "prota" or senior clergyman in town, hence, where the family name come from. The grandfather served as a bishop in the nearby Lesnovsky Monastery and was sponsor for the first old-style bulgarian book from the district - "The Miracles of the Virgin Mary" from Yakim Kurchovski. One of his sons - Dimiter - settled in Turnovo at the nearby village of Arbanasi and started a business as a "beglikchia" or tax collector on cattle. Petar is his son, while, from the mother's side he is relative to well-known bulgarian academician Dr. Nicola Piccolo /cf. chapter in biography list/.

Petar Protich was born on 12 March 1822. His primer education is received at greek school in town and from year 1839 we see his as a sophomore in Athens Gymnasium. He studies well, there, an is consequently admitted a student in medicine from 1844. Next year we see him transfer to Paris, with the help of his uncle Dr. Piccolo, studying for a medical degree until 1852. From that period of his life, mention deserve contacts with polish emigrants and Adam Mickiewicz /1798-1855/ - specifically, a romantic poet with dreams for "messianic" restoration of a great nation for the Poles. This company left a reflection in the life of the young scholar.

In year 1850, Dr. Petar Protich graduates medicine with a doctoral thesis: "Des phlegmons de la fosse iliaque interne". With a diploma in his pocket and a solid load of medical knowledge, the young doctor settles in Romania - a free state at that time with better opportunities for work than Bulgaria, supposedly. Now, first thing first, Dr. Protich starts a job as a sanitary inspector for the "Muntenja Prisons", in Bucharest. From 1854 to 1860, he is chief ordinator in the "Murkutza Hospital", Bucharest - with a major in psychiatry, which, makes him the first bulgarian with a degree in mental health. During the Crimea War /1853-1856/, he works in the home front and is responsible for volunteer recruitment. After the war, Dr. Protich becomes a member for the Benevolent Society of Bulgaria. Much like his colleague and friend Dr. Atanasovich, he is executive for many missions of that pre-liberation patriotic organization. However, the full stardom of our subject for this narrative is associated with the work for the Medical Faculty of Bucharest, where, Petar Protich is appointed professor of surgery from 1857, i.e., external pathology as the discipline was recognized from that time. Let us elaborate on the topic for a while. The data is taken from, namely: "B. Dutescu and N. Marcu. Romanian Medical Science. Bucharest: Meridiane, 1970, p 21."

"... The revolution of 1848 in the Romanian countries, the union of the Romanian principalities /1859/, the Land Reform Act /1864/ and the conquest of National Independence were the main political and social events that formed the background of these decades of important achievements in the organization of public health in Romania. This period of the organization stage in the history of Romanian medicine is called the "era of Carol Davila". Possessing a comprehensive understanding of the tendencies of his time and of the aspirations of his nation, of which he was a brilliant exponent himself, the energetic and clearsighted Carol Davila /1828-1884/, assisted by physicians with advanced ideas, such as Nicolae Kretzulescu, Iacob Felix, etc. successfully reorganized and unified the military and public health services in the Principalities, initiated Romanian higher medical and pharmaceutic teaching, established the organizational framework of modern Romanian medicine and paved the way to the following period of scientific creation in Romanian medicine.

The union of the Principalities and the double election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as sovereign both in Moldavia and Wallachia /January 1859/ did not result in an immediate and automatic unification of the public health services of the two Principalities. The first step in this direction was taken in the decree regulating the free medical practice in Wallachia and Moldavia /28 January 1862/. In September 1862 the office of Director General of the Public Health Service in the whole of Romania was taken over by Carol Davila. He was assisted by the hygienist Iacob Felix, who devised and applied an ample programme of public health reforms with a view to unifying the public health offices in Moldavia and Wallachia and at the same time achieving definite progress in public health protection.

The period also represents a decisive stage in the development of medical teaching in Romania. The National School of Medicine and Pharmacy of Bucharest, founded in 1857, became a renowned centre of medical teaching and attracted students not only from all Romanian provinces but from other Balkan countries as well, especially Bulgaria. In 1861/1862 for instance, out of 188 students 46 were from Bulgaria.

In 1869, after 12 years of important achievements, the National School was substituted by the Faculty of Medicine of Bucharest, a university institution entitled to confer the title of doctor of medicine and surgery ..."

Insofar as Dr. Protich's career is concerned, some, further points are of special interest. He was member of the Medical Council of Romania - holding a position as a department head in the Faculty of Medicine, from 1869. He was editor-in-chief of the scientific journal "Romanian Physician", where, many articles were published with his collaboration. Unfortunately, those works written in romanian have received by now an undeservedly small attention - waiting to be reanalyzed. Dr. Protich, in his romanian period, was an ardent poet as an influence from his Paris education and contacts with polish emigrants. He published two collections with poems, namely /N.B. those verses were written in french and romanian/: 1. "Poesii. Bucuresti: Nouva typographie nationala, prop. C. N. Radulescu, 1875"; 2. "La voix de Bulgarie. Bucuresti: Nouva typographie nationala, prop. C. N. Radulescu, 1879". Else, I see in his bibliography more poems published earlier in "Tzarigradski vestnik" about 1857, however, these works are difficult to obtain in visu.

The Russo-Turk War of Liberation find the old tycoon in congratulations for the Bulgarians. We have no information, whether, he get married by that time and if so, whether, he had any children. Nevertheless, we see Dr. Protich as a medical resident in Sofia from 1879. On March 1879, he is appointed member of the "First Medical Council" in the Principality of Bulgaria. Before that, on 1 February 1879, are ratified the so-called "Temporary Rules for the Medical Service" /cf. chapter in history highlight/. The FMC during the provisional Russian administration has the following participants, namely: 1. Dr. Dimitar Mollov, chairman; 2. Dr. Assen Shishmanov, Dr. Yordan Bradel, Dr. Petar Protich, Dr. Dimitar Kalevich and Dr. Konstantin Bonev, council members. Further, the work of the medical council during the period 1879-1880 is a subject of separate study.

After retirement from the work with the council, Dr. Protich continues his activities among friends and relatives. He becomes adjunct member of the Bulgarian Literary Society, now the Bulgarian Academy of Science /1881/. He is awarded with medals "St. Stanislav, IV degree" and "St. Anna, III degree". He dies from stroke on 24 September 1881. This is what prime-minister Todor Burmov says on his funeral:

"... He was one of those rare bulgarians, who, made his living busting and toiling. He was a fair man in times, when, to be a towering personality was something unthinkable - specifically, for a man of medicine ..."