Draginja Babić (3 October 1886 – 24 January/6 February 1915) was a Serbian medical doctor who worked at

Valjevo Hospital Valjevo Hospital is a general hospital in Valjevo, Serbia. War hospital in Valjevo War Hospital in Valjevo became the medical symbol of sacrifice and humanity during the World War I and World War II, as it was the biggest naval hospital in the w ...

during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She was a recipient of the

Order of St. Sava The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a state order awarded by both the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom ...

Early years and education

Draginja Babić was born in

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

, 3 October 1886, into a family of merchants, Janko Babić and Jelena Jelka (née Mišković or Mitrović. Her father was president of Valjevo municipality, 1892–1893, as was her brother, Marko Babić, in the period before the Second World War. Her brother, Jovan Babić, was a professor of

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...

and a writer, and sister, Marija (married surname, Tadić), was a pharmacist. In Valjevo, Babić finished elementary school and lower gymnasium classes. In

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, she graduated from the Third Belgrade Gymnasium in 1905. She began her medical studies at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

in 1906. where she was a scholar of Valjevo municipality, continuing her studies from 1908/09 in Berlin and ended them December 1911. She was the first Serbian woman to complete medical studies at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, at the age of 25. Babić became a doctor at a time when women doctors in Serbia were very rare. Because she was a great student, the faculty wanted to keep Babić at the University of Berlin, but she decided to return to Serbia.

Career

Babić began her career in Valjevo as an assistant doctor in the District Hospital, then she passed the state exam and worked as a municipal doctor. During the

, she served as director and was the only physician at Valjevo's Reserve Military Hospital. During

, she also worked in Valjevo as a doctor. During the Balkan wars, she served as a reserve hospital manager. During the First World War, following the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian troops in 1914, she withdrew with the Serbian army to

Pirot Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...

where she was the manager of the District Hospital. After the

Battle of Kolubara The Battle of Kolubara ( sr-Cyrl, Колубарска битка, ) was fought between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in November and December 1914, during the Serbian Campaign of 1914. It commenced on 16 November, when the Austro-Hungarians unde ...

, Babić returned to Valjevo. At that time, there was a large epidemic of

Typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

in Serbia caused by interaction with the Austro-Hungarian soldiers. In the Valjevo hospital, the situation was particularly difficult and hundreds of people died daily. At the time when everyone was fleeing from Valjevo, Babić returned to her hometown to help the sick. There she selflessly sacrificed herself for the good of others, herself suffering from Typhoid fever. Babić was decorated with the

in 1913. She died in Valjevo between 24 January and 6 February 1915. Her father died three days later. Babić was among the first medical personnel who were victimized in Valjevo. Doctors Pavle Vojteh and Selimir Đorđević, as well as a volunteer nurse,

Nadežda Petrović Nadežda Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Надежда Петровић; 11/12 October 1873 – 3 April 1915) was a Serbian painter and one of the women war photography pioneers in the region. Considered Serbia's most famous expressionist and fauvis ...

, who was also a painter, also died of typhoid in 1914–15.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babic, Draginja Recipients of the Order of St. Sava Serbian physicians 1886 births 1915 deaths People from Valjevo University of Zurich alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni People of the Balkan Wars Serbian women in World War I Deaths from typhoid fever 19th-century Serbian women 20th-century Serbian women 20th-century physicians Infectious disease deaths in Serbia Serbian casualties of World War I Women in the Balkan Wars