Antonio Grossich (7 June 1849 – 1 October 1926) was an italian surgeon from

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

(now

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

), a politician and a writer. Born in

Draguć Draguć ( it, Draguccio) is a small fortified village in Croatia's Istria County Istria County (; hr, Istarska županija; it, Regione istriana, "Istrian Region") is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of th ...

(Draguccio d'Istria), near Buzet (Pinguente),

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

, Grossich at first studied law in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, but then shifted to medicine in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, graduating in 1875. He at first (1876–1878) worked as a physician in

Kastav Kastav (Italian: Castua) is a town in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia, built on a 365 m high hill overlooking the Kvarner Gulf in the northern part of the Adriatic coast. It is in close vicinity of Rijeka, the largest port in Croatia, an ...

, close to Fiume. Antonio Grossich was mobilised and took part in the Austrian campaign in Bosnia in 1878, serving in the Austrian army as ''Oberarzt''. In 1879, he came to Fiume but went back to Vienna in 1884 to specialize surgery and obstetrical medicine. There, he worked at the First Surgery Clinic of the University of Vienna with

Karel Maydl Karel Maydl (10 March 1853 – 8 August 1903) was an Austrian surgeon who was a native of Rokytnice nad Jizerou, Bohemia. In 1876 he received his medical doctorate at Prague, and following graduation was a surgical assistant to Carl Wilhelm Heine ...

. He practiced obstetrical medicine under the supervision of

Eduard Albert Eduard Albert (20 January 1841, Žamberk, Bohemia – 26 September 1900, Žamberk), was a surgeon, professor and historian working under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Life Eduard Albert was born in Žamberk, Bohemia in the family of clockmaker ...

, who from 1873 to 1881 was a professor of surgery in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, where he introduced mandatory antiseptic treatment for wounds. In 1886, he became Chief of the Surgery Division at the City Hospital of Fiume. Grossich was among the first to use sterilisation of the operative field and, in 1908,

tincture of iodine Tincture of iodine, iodine tincture, or weak iodine solution is an antiseptic. It is usually 2 to 7% elemental iodine, along with potassium iodide or sodium iodide, dissolved in a mixture of ethanol and water. Tincture solutions are characteriz ...

was introduced by Grossich as a way for rapid sterilization of the human skin in the surgical field. It was tested on a mass level during the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

of 1912. For this reason he was awarded with the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

, and become a surgeon. Grossich became involved in the political life of the city, taking an Italian irredentist stance, eventually becoming the head of the

Italian National Council of Fiume The Italian National Council of Fiume was a political body that governed the city of Fiume between 1918 and 1924. History Creation Emperor Charles I of Austria, after Foreign Minister Baron Stephan Burián von Rajecz, István Burián asked for ...

in 1918. In 1924, he consigned the

Key to the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

to the Italian king

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

on the day of the official annexation of Fiume to Italy, where he later died.WILLIAM KLINGER, Antonio Grossich e la nascita dei movimenti nazionali a Fiume, ''Quaderni'', Volume XII, Centro ricerche storiche Rovigno, 1999, pp. 139–141.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossich, Antonio Italian surgeons 1849 births 1926 deaths Italian people of the Italo-Turkish War People from Buzet People from Rijeka Italian military personnel in Austrian armies Physicians from Vienna Politicians from Rijeka