Petar Pavlović (geologist)

Petar Pavlović (Požarevac, Serbia, 28 June 1864 – Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, 5 August 1938) was a Serbian geologist, also a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, lecturer at the Grandes écoles and a long-time director of the Museum of Natural History, Belgrade.

Biography

Petar Pavlović was born in Požarevac to Colonel Stojko Pavlović and Jelena "Lena" Lunjevica, daughter of Nikola Lunjevica, the Serbian revolutionary leader. After graduating from Belgrade's Grandes écoles, he went abroad to pursue further studies in geology and palaeontology. Upon his return to Serbia he was offered the post of director of the Museum of Natural History.

Geology in Serbia

The study of modern geology in Serbia began to develop in the first half of the 19th century mainly for two reasons: the endeavours of Prince Miloš Obrenović to expand the national economy (including mining) and the interest shown by European scientists for a country, newly liberated from the Ottoman yoke. When in 1880 Jovan Žujović became the professor of geology and mineralogy at the Grandes écoles in Belgrade, as the first Serbian geologist who studied in Belgrade and Paris, the development of geology in Serbia was strongly increased. Zujović's successors: Sava Urošević (mineralogy, petrology), Svetolik Radovanović (palaeontology), Petar Pavlović (palaeontology), Vladimir Petković (regional geology), Jelenko Mihailović (seismology) and others continued geological investigations in Serbia.

Legacy

It could well be said that the museum was Petar Pavlović's life's work, after all, he had spent three decades as its manager. Pavlović studied Tertiary period in Serbia and wrote some 200 scientific papers. He described two genera (Beogradica and Odonthohydrobia) and 150 species of mollusca which had been unknown to science. Apart from his scientific work, he was dedicated to educating young scientists. He was a member of a board which prepared the first Law of Museums in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (as the country was called at the time). This Law of Museums was passed in 1925. During his tenure, the museum expanded its collection funds through organized field collection trips and gifts from donors. In the course of the First World War, many collections were damaged or destroyed, and many unique objects of scientific and historical value were lost. In the aftermath of the war, the museum attempted to mitigate the effects of destruction, and create conditions for the work to be continued. Despite many difficulties, success followed in the domain of scientific work, and a number of scientific papers were published in international journals. The museum was also active in organizing field research and collection trips throughout Serbia and Macedonia. At this time, the museum had an important role in educating university and high school students, which was achieved by organizing their scientific excursions and equipping school laboratories and libraries, all through Pavlović's initiative.

See also

References
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