Nicolae Negură (October 22, 1832–September 1884) was a

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

n-born

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n physician. Born in Huși, Negură studied medicine in Germany, where he was influenced by the

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

Carl Vogt August Christoph Carl Vogt (; 5 July 18175 May 1895) was a German scientist, philosopher, popularizer of science, and politician who emigrated to Switzerland. Vogt published a number of notable works on zoology, geology and physiology. All his l ...

Jacob Moleschott Jacob Moleschott (9 August 1822 – 20 May 1893) was a Dutch physiologist and writer on dietetics. He is known for his philosophical views in regard to scientific materialism. He was a member of German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (since 1884). ...

and

Ludwig Büchner Friedrich Karl Christian Ludwig Büchner (29 March 1824 – 30 April 1899) was a German philosopher, physiologist and physician who became one of the exponents of 19th-century scientific materialism. Biography Büchner was born at Darmstadt on ...

. He received a doctorate in 1856 from the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

; the thesis was titled ''De febre Moldaviensi''. Later that year, he settled in the Moldavian capital

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, obtaining a license to practice and obtaining a post as a

primary care physician A primary care physician (PCP) is a physician who provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions, not limited by cause, organ system, or diagnosis. The term ...

at Sfântul Spiridon Hospital. In September 1859, at a time when medical education in Moldavia was limited to a midwives' school, he proposed that the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Instruction set up a school for surgeons that would serve as the basis for a medical faculty. After receiving ministerial approval, he proceeded within a year to translate and publish a manual of anatomy and to obtain necessary materials such as a microscope, normal and diseased anatomical samples, skeletons and plaster casts. He had the support of ''

domnitor ''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince" in other languages and less often as "grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn''" ...

Alexandru Ion Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Janu ...

, and of

Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863, ...

.Ionel Maftei, ''Personalități ieșene'', vol. II, pp. 180-81. Comitetul de cultură și educație socialistă al județului Iași, 1975 At the end of November, Negură was able to begin teaching in the

Academia Mihăileană Academia Mihăileană was an institution of higher learning based in Iași, Moldavia, and active in the first part of the 19th century. Like other Eastern European institutions of its kind, it was both a high school and a higher learning institut ...

building. The following January, he was named professor of surgery and medicine by princely decree. Certain circles, consolidated around the Sfântul Spiridon administration, opposed his initiative, but Negură was able to complete the 1860–1861 academic year. However, opposition then forced the school to shut down. Although ephemeral, it marked an important stage in the evolution of medical education in Romania. Negură's philosophical writings offer a clue to his motivation in creating the school. His 1865 articles "Viața, existența și moartea" and "Voința, putința și răbdarea" mark him as an early Romanian promoter of a material conception about nature and thought. He also published ''Migrenă'', an 1868 study of migraines; and ''Higienă publică și privată'' (1875), a hygiene manual. He was an active member of the Iași society of physicians and naturalists. Moving to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

around 1865, he offered courses on forensic medicine and toxicology at the national school of medicine and pharmacy.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Negura, Nicolae 1832 births 1884 deaths People from the Kingdom of Prussia People from the Principality of Moldavia People from Huși Humboldt University of Berlin alumni 19th-century Romanian physicians Materialists