Original scientific paper
Slovenian Physician and Aeronaut Matija Gregor Kraškovič (1767-1823) and His Work in Kotor and Dubrovnik
Stanislav Južnič
; Odsjeka za povijest znanosti Sveučilišta Oklahoma. Oklahoma, SAD
Abstract
This article provides new insights into the life and work of a Slovenian physician and balloon aviator Matija Gregor Kraškovič. Born in the modest neighbourhood of the Carniola Parish of Bloke, Kraškovič continued his schooling in Ljubljana and later at the Viennese Faculty of Medicine, where he took his doctor’s degree in 1796. After serving in Varaždin and Vienna, in 1816 Kraškovič applied for the position of a district physician of Kotor (today’s Montenegro) and finally in 1820 of Dubrovnik, including Mljet and the Elaphite Islands. The solid Viennese education helped Kraškovič to shape his own sound theory of detonations on the island of Mljet in 1822. He believed that the causes of the detonations should be sought in the chemical processes which decompose the material by means of electric fluids of water vapour in hydrogen and oxygen, and in so doing produce an underground sound and vibrations. Kraškovič’s opinion influenced most of his successors, but was also subject to criticism. Kraškovič’s collection, described in a post-mortem inventory, consisted of books, geographic maps, globes and scientific instruments, revealing his manifold interests and scholarly pursuits. Kraškovič’s library also included the first medicine book written in Croatian, a manual on obstetrics of his Varaždin predecessor, a Luxemburg-born physician Joannes Baptista Lalangue, in addition to several important works dealing with the healing of patients with Voltaic electricity. Kraškovič’s relationship with Filipina Hirsch, the mother of his natural son, as well as the family relations with his brothers and sisters back home in Carniola and in Budapest with their abortive trial to get a part of his heritage are documented. On his deathbed Kraškovič confessed paternity of his 16-year-old son Gregor Ludwig Sigmund Hanner, who lived with him in Dubrovnik. Kraškovič was very much interested in the welfare of his son and cared for his education, although his efforts to encourage the youngster towards medical sciences remained futile.
Keywords
Matija Gregor Kraškovič; Bloke in Inner Carniola; Ljubljana; Vienna; Varaždin; Dubrovnik; Mljet; Subterranean Detonations; Early 19th century
Hrčak ID:
137827
URI
Publication date:
14.4.2015.
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