Nikolaos Apostolidis (Greek:Νικόλαος Αποστολίδης; 1856 - 1919), was a biologist, naturalist, professor, dean, author, and politician. He replaced Iraklis Mitsopoulos as the second director of the Zoological Museum of the University of Athens. He served as Dean of the Philosophical School, Rector of the University of Athens, and Minister of Economics. He popularized natural science and was one of the most prolific Greek naturalists of the 20th century. He studied countless species of animals.[1][2]
Nikolaos Apostolidis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dean of the School of Philosophy (University of Athens) | |
| In office 1901–1902 | |
| Preceded by | Pavlos Karolidis |
| Succeeded by | Margaritis Evangelidis |
| Rector of the (University of Athens) | |
| In office 1909–1910 | |
| Minister of Economics | |
| In office 1916–1917 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1856 Volos, Greece |
| Died | 1919 (aged 62–63) Athens, Greece |
| Spouse | Sophia Petrou Kiappe |
| Children | Alexandra Christos Iosif |
| Profession | Professor, Dean |
| Known for | Naturalism in Greece Zoological Labs (University of Athens) |
| Alma mater | University of Athens University of Geneva Sorbonne University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Natural History Zoology Biology |
| Institutions | University of Athens |
Nikolaos was born in Volos to the aristocratic family Apostolidis. He migrated to Athens to attend school and eventually studied at the University of Athens, University of Geneva, and the Sorbonne University. He completed his doctoral studies at the Sorbonne in the field of natural science under the supervision of Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers. He returned to Greece and became a high school teacher and professor at the University of Athens. He expanded the Laboratory of Zoology at the Zoological Museum which was part of the University of Athens and published several scientific papers on zoology while introducing systematic experimental zoology to Greece. He died in Athens in 1919.[3][4]
Biography
editHe was born in Volos in 1856 to the aristocratic family Apostolidis. He was the son of Christos Apostolidis and he had 3 brothers Pericles, Margaritis, and Aristides. Nikolaos eventually married Sophia Petrou Kiappe the great-granddaughter of German surgeon Heinrich Treiber. Treiber actively participated in the Greek War of Independence as a surgeon and was one of the doctors who fought for the life of the English poet Lord Byron. Treiber later became the private doctor of King Otto and one of the first medical professors at the University of Athens. He remained in Greece for the rest of his life. Sophia and Nikolaos had three children Alexandra, Christos and Iosif. Christos became a doctor.[5][6][7]
Nikolaos completed his primary education in Athens and studied Physics at the University of Athens. He continued his studies at the University of Geneva from 1877 – 1879 and eventually migrated to Paris where he studied zoology at the Sorbonne University with Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers. In 1881, he was awarded a doctorate degree and his thesis was entitled Anatomy and Embryology of Ophiurs. He returned to Greece one year later and became professor of zoology while also teaching natural history at the local high school. He continued his research on ophiurs in echinoderms.[5]
By September 1894, he was appointed full professor of zoology at the University of Athens, a position he held for 22 years; moreover, he was also director of the Zoological Museum and participated in countless international scientific conferences. By the academic year 1909-1910, he assumed the position of rector of the University of Athens, and six years later around 1916 and 1917, he served as Minister of Economics during the Interim Government of Spyridon Lambros after which he abandoned the post for health reasons. He did extensive research on agricultural zoology and published several scientific papers on zoology, he also introduced systematic experimental zoology to Greece. He significantly expanded the Zoological Museum at the University of Athens and oversaw the Laboratory of Zoology.[5][8]
Literary works
edit| Date | Title | Title in English |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | Anatomie et Dèveloppement des Ophiures | Anatomy and Development of Brittle Stars |
| 1883 | La Pèche en Grèce In: Fauna Ichthyologique de Grèce | Fishing in Greece. In: Ichthyological Fauna of Greece, |
| 1892 | Το βασίλειον των Ζώων | The Animal Kingdom |
| 1892 | Οι Ιχθύες των Γλυκέων Υδάτων της Θεσσαλίας, | The Freshwater Fishes of Thessaly |
| 1894 | Ανατομική και Εμβρυολογία των Σκωληκοειδών (vermetidae) | Anatomy and Embryology of Vermetidae |
| 1894 | Τα θαλάσσια Ζώα και τα Επιθαλάσσια Εργαστήρια | Sea Animals and Marine Laboratories |
| 1896 | Πουλολόγω Αναφερομένων Πτηνών, | Birdwatcher of Listed Birds |
| 1901 | Φυσική και βιολογική Ιστορία των Ανωφελών Κωνώπων | Natural and Biological History of Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes[6] |
| 1904 | Τα Ωφέλιμα Πτηνά | The Beneficial Birds |
| 1907 | Le Corail Grèc. In: La Grèce Maritime | Greek Coral. In: Maritime Greece |
| 1907 | Όρια, Óροι και Διαιρέσεις των εν ταις Θαλάσσαις Διαιτωμένων Ζώων (Πρυτανικός Λόγος) | Limits, Conditions and Divisions of the Animals Fed in the Seas (Rector's Speech) |
References
edit- ^ Staff Writers (28 October 2022). "Acting Deans". National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Triandafillos Sklavenitis (November 27, 2022). "Apostolidis Nikolaos". Institute for Neohellenic Research. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ Staff Writers (November 27, 2022). "Nikolaos Apostolidis". Department of Biology. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ Savaidou 2010, pp. 54, 142, 153, 158 165, 176, 214, 232, 259, 285, 316, 416, 462–465, 467–470, 472–473.
- ^ a b c Savaidou 2010, pp. 416.
- ^ a b Stefanidis 1952, pp. 23.
- ^ Staff Writers (November 27, 2022). "The historical Apostolidis family of Volos". The Alumni of the German School in Athens. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ Tampakis 2014, pp. 232–233.
Bibliography
edit- Stefanidis, Michail K. (1952). Εθνικόν και Καποδιστριακόν Πανεπιστήμιον Αθηνών Εκατονταετηρίς 1837-1937. Τόμος Ε′, Ιστορία της Φυσικομαθηματικής Σχολής [National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Centenary 1837-1937. Volume V, History of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics] (PDF). Athens: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
- Savaidou, Irini Mergoupi (2010). 'Δημόσιος Λόγος περί Επιστήμης στην Ελλάδα, 1870–1900: Εκλαϊκευτικά Εγχειρήματα στο Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, στους Πολιτιστικούς Συλλόγους και στα Περιοδικά [Public Discourse about Science in Greece, 1870-1900: Population Projects at the University of Athens, in Cultural Associations and Magazines] (PDF). Athens, GR: Department of History and Philosophy of Science of the University of Athens.
- Tampakis, Kostas (2014). "Onwards Facing Backwards: the Rhetoric of Science in Nineteenth-Century Greece". The British Journal for the History of Science. 47 (2): 217–237. doi:10.1017/S000708741300040X. JSTOR 43820483. PMID 24941732. Retrieved November 27, 2022.