| Josif Pančić | |
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Josif Pančić
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| Born | April 17, 1814 Ugrini |
| Died | March 8, 1888 (aged 73) Belgrade |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Fields | botany |
| Alma mater | University of Budapest |
| Known for | discovery of Serbian Spruce |
| Author abbreviation (botany) | Pančić |
Josif Pančić OSS (Serbian Cyrillic: Јосиф Панчић; April 17, 1814 – March 8, 1888)[1] was a Serbian botanist of Croatian origin[2]. He was a famous lecturer at the Great School in Belgrade and the first president of the Serbian Royal Academy. Pančić is credited for discovering the new species of conifer – the Serbian Spruce.
He was born as Josip Pančić in Ugrini, near Crikvenica, Croatia (then Austrian Empire), the fourth son of Pavel Pančić and Margarita. After finishing elementary school in Gospić, he went on to the lyceum in Rijeka and graduated in 1842 in Budapest in medicine. In addition to other courses, Pančić attended botany courses, taught by the then renowned botanist Sadler.[3]
He was acquainted with the Serbian linguist Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in Vienna who wrote him a letter of recommendation in to the Serbian authorities in order to fulfill his wish to settle in the then Principality of Serbia.
Pančić worked as a physician in rural Serbia and documented its flora during his frequent visits of the principality. He fell in love with Kopaonik which he visited 16 times between 1851 and 1886. He was credited with having classified many species of plants which were unknown to the botanical community at that time. His most significant discovery was the Serbian Spruce, which he named Pinus omorika (omorika being the Serbian name for a spruce), later being reclassified as Picea omorika (Pančić) Purkyne.
Pančić was named the first president of the Serbian Royal Academy formed on April 5, 1887. He requested opening of the Botanical garden "Jevremovac" in Belgrade.
Pančić died on March 8, 1888 in Belgrade while working. A mausoleum of Josif Pančić on Kopaonik was erected in 1951 by the Academy, the University of Belgrade and the Hikers union, with the inscription: