Andrija Štampar (1 September 1888 – 26 June 1958) was a distinguished scholar in the field of

social medicine Social medicine is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the profound interplay between socio-economic factors and individual health outcomes. Rooted in the challenges of the Industrial Revolution, it seeks to: # Understand how specific soci ...

from

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Education

Štampar was born on 1 September 1888 in Brodski Drenovac (part of Pleternica), at the time part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, in modern Požega-Slavonia County. From 1898 to 1906, he attended grammar school in

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...

. During his secondary schooling, Štampar was a brilliant pupil and, at that time, he wrote his first literary attempt, published in the periodical ''Pobratim'' in 1902. He enrolled at the medical school in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1906, which was at the time the most important medical center in the world. As a medical student, he initiated the editing of medical papers and wrote pamphlets and articles to educate people in health matters. In 1909, in

Nova Gradiška Nova Gradiška is a town located in the Brod-Posavina County of Croatia, population 14,229 (2011). It is located in the historic region of Slavonia, near the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first word in the name means ''New'', and there' ...

, he started publishing the Public Health Library series, discussing numerous health and prevention topics. On 23 December 1911, he was awarded the Doctor of General Medicine (''doctor medicinae universae'').

Career

On 1 January 1912, Štampar started working at the town hospital at

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

and remained at this post until 8 August 1913. He enrolled in the Croatian Medical Association, an organization of physicians, and published a few articles in their journal. By a decree of the Župan (Prefect) of the Požega District, he was appointed district health officer of Nova Gradiška in 1913. In 1919, he attended the Congress of Inter-Allied Countries for Social Hygiene in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, lecturing on children's health. At that time, he had a clear concept of organizing the public health service. Andrija Štampar is universally known as "the man of action" . At age 31, he was named principal of

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 ...

's Department of Public Health. Thanks to Štampar's endeavours, a special Institute of Social Medicine affiliated with the University of Zagreb School of Medicine was founded. From 1924, he was a member of several international expert committees, which, through his efforts, received grants from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

. King Alexander's dictatorship suddenly put a stop to his work at the Ministry of Public Health in 1930, and, in 1931, he was put on the retired list by the King's decree and came into personal conflict with King Alexander due to his refusal to enter the government. He was offered the portfolio of the Minister of the Interior, but he refused and asked for free elections as a condition.

International activities

From 1931 to 1933, Štampar was permanently employed as the Health Organization of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

expert. He entered upon a new kind of work; study travels, extensive lecturing in different parts of the world, and confronting health problems at the international level. From October 1931 until January 1932, Štampar was in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

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as the guest of the Rockefeller Foundation. The

also entrusted him with the task of acquainting himself with the work of a special American Committee dealing with the costs of medical care. He also spent time in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, from 1933 to 1936. The Health Organization sent him as an advisor to help the Chinese health administration control the mass infectious diseases that cropped up after devastating floods in 1931.

''Dr. Štampar has come to China to help our Government in its work on reconstruction based on the plan of technical cooperation with the League of Nations. He went round several provinces, from Kansu and Shanghai in the West to Kwangtung and Kwangsi in the South, and made a valuable contribution to the reconstruction of our villages, especially in the field of rural health protection services. On his departure, we wish to give this to him as a remembrance of his work in China, hoping he will visit us again.''
-- Ching Feng

In 1936, he received an offer from the League of Nations secretary general for the post of an expert at the Health Organization in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. In 1938, he received an invitation from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, where he delivered a lecture. After Boston, he toured a great part of North America and lectured on hygiene and social medicine at a series of universities (Yale, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, McHarry, Tulane, Texas, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Portland, Minnesota, Toronto, McGill, Columbia, Galvestone). The

International Health Conference International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

held in New York in the summer of 1946 was attended by the official representatives of 51 nations. With only a few minor alterations, they accepted the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) draft. The First World Health Assembly was called with the ratification of the WHO Constitution. It was in session from 24 June to 24 July 1948. In Geneva, Štampar was elected as the first president of the assembly unanimously. At the 8th regular session of the WHO in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, in 1955, Štampar was awarded the Leon Bernard Foundation Prize and Medal, the greatest international recognition of merit in the field of social medicine. A statue has been dedicated to Štampar in Morocco for his work in curing malaria.

Zagreb

Andrija Štampar founded the School of Public Health in Zagreb in 1927. By the decree of 5 March 1939, eight years after his election as full professor of hygiene and social medicine in Zagreb, he finally became a professor at Zagreb University. Elected by the council of the medical school in Zagreb, Štampar became the school's dean for the academic year 1940/41. With the energy so characteristic of him, he set to work on the reform of medical training. On the third day of the occupation of Zagreb, Štampar was arrested by the Ustaša police. Released, he was arrested again by the German police and sent to

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, where he was imprisoned and interned until the arrival of the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. On his return in May 1945, he resumed his duty as professor of hygiene and social medicine at the medical school and became head of the School of Public Health in Zagreb. Štampar was the rector of Zagreb University for the academic year 1945/46. In 1952, he was again elected the medical school dean for 5 consecutive years. He also had an important role in founding the medical school at

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

in 1955.

References

External links