František Patočka (22 October 1904,

Turnov Turnov (; ) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is a traditional centre for gemstone polishing, glass craftsmanship and arts. The historic town centre is well preserved and ...

– 14 March 1985,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

) was a Czechoslovak

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

and serologist. He established the study of

virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...

in Czechoslovakia. His brother

Jan Patočka Jan Patočka (; 1 June 1907 – 13 March 1977) was a Czech philosopher. Having studied in Prague, Paris, Berlin, and Freiburg, he was one of the last pupils of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. In Freiburg he also developed a lifelong philos ...

was a well-known Czechoslovak philosopher. Patočka graduated from

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in 1928, studying medicine and specialising in microbiology. In 1936, he became head of the Czech Bacteriological Institute after

Ivan Honl Ivan Honl (23 April 1866 in Zbýšov, Moravia – 7 June 1936 in , Náchod, Czechoslovakia) was a Czech bacteriologist, serology, serologist and Activism, activist in the struggle against tuberculosis. Honl became one of founders of Czech micr ...

. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, together with epidemiologist

Karel Raška Karel Raška (; 17 November 1909 – 21 November 1987) was a Czech physician and epidemiologist, who headed the successful international effort during the 1960s to eradicate smallpox. Early life Raška was a Director of the WHO Division of Commu ...

, Patočka was personally leading measures to stop the spread of

epidemic typhus Epidemic typhus, also known as louse-borne typhus, is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters where civil life is disrupted. Epidemic typhus is spread to people through contact wit ...

in the

Terezín concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresiensta ...

. Together, they wrote a report describing the appalling conditions and mistreatment of German civilians incarcerated in the Small Fortress after the war ended. In the 1960s, he worked as an expert for the

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

in India and Zaire.

References

External links

Biography (in Czech)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patocka, Frantisek 1904 births 1985 deaths People from Turnov People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Serologists Czechoslovak biologists Microbiologists Czechoslovak epidemiologists Charles University alumni Academic staff of Charles University Czechoslovak physicians World Health Organization officials