Josif PanÃÂià(; born Josip PanÃÂiÃÂ; April 17, 1814 â February 25, 1888) was a Serbian botanist, physician, professor and academic. Born in the First French Empire, in present-day Croatia, he earned his medical degree in Hungary before moving to Serbia. 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. PanÃÂiàis credited with discovering the Serbian spruce. He is regarded as the father of Serbian botany.
Josif PanÃÂiàwas born in Ugrine, near Bribir, in the Vinodol region, then part of the Illyrian Provinces of the First French Empire. PanÃÂiàwas the fourth son of Pavel PanÃÂiàand his wife Margarita. His paternal grandfather, who came from the area around Nià ¡, had served in a volunteer battalion of the Austrian Imperial Army during the Austro-Turkish War. According to tradition, the PanÃÂiàfamily hailed from Herzegovina and settled in Ugrini in olden times. Some sources claim that PanÃÂiàwas of Bunjevci origin, some describe him as of Croat origin, while some sources describe him as of Serb origin.
After finishing elementary school in GospiÃÂ, 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, PanÃÂiàattended botany courses, taught by the then renowned botany professor, Joseph Sadler (Sadler József). Later, recalling those early lectures, he wrote:
While studying botany at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, PanÃÂiàbecame acquainted with the Serbian linguist Vuk StefanoviàKaradà ¾iàwho wrote him a letter of recommendation to the Serbian authorities, to fulfill his wish to settle in the Principality of Serbia to study Nature. 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.
In 1853, he moved from Kragujevac to Belgrade when he was first appointed adjunct professor at Belgrade Lyceum's Department of Natural History and Agronomy by decree of Prince Alexander KaradjordjeviÃÂ, before becoming a full-time professor of Natural History and Agriculture in 1854, as decreed by the Ministry of Education of the Principality of Serbia.
PanÃÂiàwas a lecturer at the Great School (the future University of Belgrade), and the first president of the Serbian Royal Academy. As Professor of Natural Sciences, he was one of the six original professors (along with Konstantin BrankoviÃÂ, Jovan Sterija PopoviÃÂ, ÃÂura DaniÃÂiÃÂ, Matija Ban, and Dimitrije Neà ¡iÃÂ), of the Lyceum of the Principality of Serbia. He later became rector of the Great School (the future University of Belgrade) and the founder of the Institutes of Mineralogy and Geology, Zoological and Botanical Departments and of the experimental botanical gardens in Belgrade.
PanÃÂiÃÂ 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. The crowning achievement of PanÃÂiÃÂ floristic studies was the "Flora of the Principality of Serbia" () published in 1874, while a supplement was added ten years later. His explorations marked the golden age of Serbia's botany.
His most significant discovery was the Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika), 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. During the SerbianâÂÂOttoman War (1876âÂÂ1878), 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.
PanÃÂiÃÂ 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.
PanÃÂiÃÂ died on 25 February 1888, his last wish was to be buried in the Kopaonik Mountain.
A mausoleum of Josif PanÃÂiÃÂ was erected at the highest peak of Kopaonik in 1951 by the Academy of Science, the University of Belgrade and the Hiking club, with the inscription:
A research society has been named after him, Josif PanÃÂiàBiological Research Society (Bioloà ¡ko istraà ¾ivaÃÂko druà ¡tvo "Josif PanÃÂiÃÂ"). He was depicted on the 10 Dinars note printed in 1994. He is included in The 100 most prominent Serbs. In 1951, the highest point in the Kopaonik mountain range was changed from Milan Peak to PanÃÂiÃÂ's Peak.
On April 17, 2010, Google celebrated his birthday with a Google Doodle.