Јоsif Holec ( sr-Cyrl, Јосиф Холец, 1835–1898) was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

in the

Serbian Army The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. History Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...

, one of the founders of the Serbian Medical Society in 1873. He was the Chief of the Military Medical Academy of the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

from 1882 to 1884.

Life and career

Born in 1835 in Tuřice in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, Josif Holec first studied medicine in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and then 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 ...

. He graduated with a

doctor of medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

degree. In 1861 he became a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and an

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

. He moved to Serbia, where he was employed as a district physician in

Paraćin Paraćin ( sr-Cyrl, Параћин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. It is located in the valley of the Velika Morava river, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac. In 2011 the town had a p ...

, and sometime later in

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-cyr, Крушевац, , tr, Alacahisar or Kruşevca) is a city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina river. According to the 2011 census, t ...

. From 1866 he practiced as a physician in the Internal Department of the Belgrade

Military Hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

, and in 1873 he was promoted to manager of the Central Military Hospital in Belgrade. Among his many duties were preparing laws and regulations for the military medical corps with his professional colleagues Lazar Dokić and Filip Tajšić in case of war. Later, he joined the medical team of Medical Corps Major Stefan Nedok, the first head of the Internal Department of the Belgrade Military Hospital and the chief of Medical Services of Division and Corps in the Serbian-Turkish wars. Also, he took part in Serbian-Turkish Wars of 1876 to 1878 and in 1885 he was at the battlefront in the Serbian-Bulgarian War, performing important duties as head of the medical corps of the Drina Division under the command of General Milutin Jovanović. He died in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

in 1898 at the age of 62.

Work

As a prominent medical officer, he was a permanent member of the First Military Medical Committee. He is one of the founders of the Serbian Medical Society.

Acknowledgments

For his work, Josif Holec was awarded

Order of the Cross of Takovo The Order of the Cross of Takovo was a Serbian state order. History It was instituted in the Principality of Serbia in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which had started in Takovo, Serbi ...

and numerous other decorations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holec, Josif 1835 births 1898 deaths Military personnel from Belgrade Serbian military doctors Physicians from Belgrade Serbian military leaders