Comenius - Following the Famous Scientists
 

Bography of Stamen Grigorov

 

 

Uppdated 2009-08-25
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Stamen Grigorov
- The life of the scientist

Dr Stamen Gigov Grigorov is a Bulgarian biologist and physician. He was the first scientist who discovered the bacteria Lactobacillus delbureckii subsp. Bulgaricus (a microorganism which causes milk to turn into yoghurt). Dr Stamen Grigorov was born in the village of Studen Izvor, Tran Region, in 1878. He completed his secondary education in Sofia and then he studied natural sciences in Montpellier, France, and after that medical science in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1905, at the age of 27, Dr. Grigorov made the discovery, for which he is best known. In the microbiological laboratory of Professor Masole in Geneva, he discovered that a certain strain of bacillus is the true cause for the existence of natural yoghurt. Prof. Masol made him his first assistant. Dr Grigorov was offered a series of prestigeous posts – a professor at the University of Geneva, a director of the Pasteur institute in Sao Paolo. He started working as a district docotr in Tran, where he created an anti-tuberculosis vaccine. A little bit earlier, however, two Frenchmen - Albert Kalmet and Kamay Geren had also found a vaccine known as BCG, which is still applied nowadays. What Dr. Grigorov invented was something really incredible – „a killed vaccine”, which is a lot safer. The year was 1935. Dr Stamen Grigorov received an invitation to go to Milan in a Sanatorium for Consumptives where all the conditions to apply his methods to cure tuberculosis would be at his disposal. Although he was in his 60s, Dr Stamen Grigorov accepted the invitation. Probably also tempted by his ceaseless hope to find better conditions for his research work. About his stay in Italy we can conclude from a publication in the newspaper ‘Utro’ (Morning) from 30 April 1938. It pointed out that the application of Dr Stamen Grigorov’s methods for treatment were surprisingly good. They were called ‘cura bulgara’ (Bulgarian treatment). And the patients treated by Dr Stamen Grigorov’ were called ‘bulgari’. He married a woman from Tran named Darina. Four sons were born to them. In 1944, during the bombing, he came back to Bulgaria to be together with his family. His work in Italy was continued by his son – Dr. Alexander Grigorov. The idea to settle in Sofia immediately after returning to Bulgaria was no good. The capital was under bombing and he preferred to evacuate his family to Novoseltsi (now the town of Elin Pelin). Dr Stamen Grigorov died on 27 October 1945.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stamen Grigorov

 

Stamen Grigorov - student