JOSIF PANČIĆ - FIRST PRESIDENT OF SERBIAN ROYAL ACADEMY

BIJELJINA, APRIL 16 /SRNA/ – Botanist and naturalist Josif Pančić /1814–1888/, the first president of the Serbian Royal Academy, was born on April 17, 1814.

Pančić completed his medical studies in Pest, while he furthered his botanical studies in Vienna, where he met Vuk Karadžić, on whose advice he came to Serbia in 1846. As a physician, Pančić worked in Paraćin, Jagodina, and Kragujevac, and in 1856 he became a professor at the Lyceum, and later at the Great School in Belgrade, where he served as rector six times. Pančić studied the flora, fauna, and mineralogy of the Balkan Peninsula, especially Serbia. He described 80 previously unknown plant and animal species and discovered the endemic relict conifer known as Pančić’s spruce, as well as the relict Ramonda plants. Pančić also founded and organised the Botanical Garden in Belgrade. He published around thirty works in botany, zoology, geology, mineralogy, forestry, and archaeology. His most well-known works include "Flora of the Kingdom of Serbia," "Birds of Serbia," and "Fish of Serbia." Josif Pančić passed away in 1888.