Zaharina (Zacharia) Mitseva Dimitrova was a prominent

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

doctor from Macedonia.

Biography

Zaharina Dimitrova was born on November 26, 1873 in Resen, then in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. She is the daughter of Mitse Velov, who is the son of the famous Bulgarian Revivalist Velyo Miloshev. She graduated from the

Bulgarian Girls' High School of Thessaloniki The Bulgarian girls’ high school of Thessaloniki "Sveto Blagoveshtenie" (Annunciation of Our Lady) was founded by the Bulgarian community there. The school had its own building and boarding house, acquired with the help of the Bulgarian benefact ...

and then went to study

obstetrics 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 ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. From 1892 she continued her education as a medical student at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...

.Танчев, Иван. Македонският компонент при формирането на българската интелигенция с европейско образование (1878 – 1912). // Македонски преглед XXIV (3). 2001. с. 51. Then, as a scholarship holder of the Bulgarian Exarchate, she continued her education in medicine in

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, an ...

,Галчев, Илия. Здравно-социалната дейност на Българската екзархия в Македония и Тракия: 1870 – 1913, Юруков, 1994, стр. 131. where she graduated in 1901. She won an

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

and

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

competition for students and was awarded a silver medal during her second year of study. She graduated with a gold medal for distinction. On February 27, 1901, she graduated as a course leader. Her doctoral dissertation was "Studies on the structure of the pineal gland in some mammals." It was printed in Belgium and distributed by "Nevraks" magazine. She settled in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, where she passed a test and on March 23, 1901 received a permit for free practice of medicine in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. Due to an epidemic, she was urgently sent as a doctor to

Sliven Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...

, where she worked and lived until 1910. At that time she married the military pharmacist Major Panayot Dimitrov. In 1910, the two settled in

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality. The Tatars founded Pazardzhik in t ...

. Initially, she proceeded to the Primary District Hospital, and then worked as a school, district and freelance doctor. During the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

in 1912-1913, Zaharina headed the sanitary unit in Pazardzhik.Национално сдружение на общините в Република България, Национална научна конференция „Българската община и местното самоуправление – Възрожденските традиции“, 11 – 12 октомври 2000 година, Пазарджик, 2001, стр. 27. She examined the sick in the refugee camp in

Krichim Krichim ( bg, Кричим ) is a town in Bulgaria, located in the southwestern part of Plovdiv Province close to Perushtitsa. It lies at the foot of the Rhodopes' northern slopes in the plains of Thrace, 20 km southwest of Plovdiv. The river ...

. Due to the mobilization of Dr. Iliya Matakiev and Dr. Atanas Dimitrov, the mayor of Pazardzhik appointed her city doctor. In her husband's pharmacy, she set up the city's first blood test laboratory.Семеен фонд Димитрови. // Информационна система на Държавните архиви. Посетен на 24 август 2019 г. Due to deteriorating health, in 1930, she retired from active medical work. She started active charity and public activity as a chairwoman of the women's society "Budna Makedonka" and as an active member of the women's charity society "Prosveta" in Pazardzhik. She furnished part of the maternity and nursing homes in Pazardzhik with personal funds. She helped poor refugee families. Together with her husband, she supported several relatives of their relatives to study. Among them is the pharmacist Boris Lyakov. For years they have provided food for the summer student camp of the First Kliment Ohridski High School in Pazardzhik. In 1838, they bought a car, a "Mercedes" ambulance, and donated it to the hospital to serve the citizens of Pazardzhik to provide emergency medical care. One of the oldest fountains in Pazardzhik, "Gerana" (between the buildings of the Art Gallery, the Regional History Museum and the Old Post Office), was built with family funds, and is a gift to the city. Zaharina was awarded the

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

V degree (ladies' cross) and the medal "For Excellent Service." She died on April 14, 1940, in Pazardzhik. Her personal archive is stored in the Dimitrov Family Fund (Fund 571K) in the State Archives of Pazardzhik. It consists of 75 archival units from the period 1892-2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimitrova, Zaharina 1873 births 1940 deaths University of Lausanne alumni Bulgarian philanthropists Bulgarian women physicians 19th-century Bulgarian women 20th-century Bulgarian women People from Resen, North Macedonia