Petar Beron, Bulgarian educator and enlightening figure

published on 3/24/11 1:42 PM

Портрет на Петър Берон, художник Николай Павлович

On 21 March Bulgaria marked the 140 anniversary since the death of Dr. Petar Beron, a prominent Bulgarian scientist and educator during the Bulgarian Revival. He was born to a rich and respectable family in the mountain town of Kotel. His real name was Petar Hadzhiberovich. He studied at a monastery school in his hometown. In the early 19 century his father was robbed and ruined by the Ottomans during a yet another Russo-Turkish war. Young Petar started working as a tailor in the city of Varna. Having earned some money he went to Bucharest, Romania, where he studied at an acclaimed Geek school. Later, he became a private teacher in the family of then rich Bulgarian Anton Yovanovich in Brasov. After that, he studied philosophy in Heidelberg, Germany, got a medical degree and did a PhD in Munich. He settled in Craiova, Romania, where he worked as a doctor for 9 years. With the support of Mr Yovanovich, in 1924 Petar Beron published The Fish Primer, the first modern Bulgarian primer. It was called that way because of a dolphin depicted at the end of the book. It was exactly that book that set the beginning of secular education in Bulgaria.

In 1839 Dr. Petar Beron together with his relatives founded a company that brought him significant earnings. He invested the money in further developing his scientific work. He lived in Paris and did numerous business trips to Berlin, London, Vienna and Athens. His life ended tragically in 1871 when he was murdered at his home in Craiova. It is believed that the reason for his murder was connected to his inheritance. Living a simple life without a family or children, Dr. Beron made numerous donations to Bulgarian schools at the time.

Dr. Beron was a bright figure of Bulgaria’s National Revival who developed enormous scientific work. He authored more than 20 works totaling more than 10000 pages in different fields of knowledge such as physics, chemistry, meteorology, geology, philosophy, etc. He aspired to create a common system of sciences, which found reflection in his major work entitled Panepisteme that was published in French. He knew 9 languages and wrote in 5 of them. Some of his philosophical views laid out in Panepisteme can be controversial but they reveal the vast dimensions of his intellect that by far exceeded what the time required of him in the first place: the education of a freedom-aspiring nation. Dr. Beron participated actively in the scientific life of the Old Continent. He delivered many scholarly essays and presentations. In England he presented a fire-extinguishing device of his own creation. He is believed to have foreseen the emergence of the radio and television with his idea of “a wireless on land and across water at a distance”.

Dr. Petar Beron’s most popular invention remains The Fish Primer, which came out 6 times within two decades of its first publication. The book consists of 8 sections, but only the first one contains the alphabet and grammar rules of the Bulgarian language. The other sections deal with arithmetic, history, religious studies, ethics, fables and natural sciences. The book was consistent with an educational method used in Europe at the time, according to which older students should teach younger ones. The primer was a collection of basic knowledge with which every Bulgarian child could start his or her education. Written in Bulgarian, the book was easy-to-read and intriguing. Here is how Petar Beron explained to young students what the dolphin was. “The dolphin is the most sprightly of all mammals, for when it swims it cannot be reached either by a bird or an arrow….It is said to love singing and people a great deal. Dolphins swim close to ships. Some give birth to twin baby dolphins, suckle them, as the whale does, and protect them lovingly until they grow old enough to take care of themselves. They grow up for ten years”. Well-known Ukrainian Slavist Yuriy Venelin said about The Fish Primer the following: “I have never seen a single Russian primer that can equal in dignity this book, which is very instructive, indeed.”

For decades on end Petar Beron worked on the development of Bulgarian education. He did a lot for the girls’ education in the country. On his initiative and financial support Bulgaria opened girls’ schools in Kotel and other Bulgarian towns. After his death Petar Beron’s inheritance was used for the education in Bulgaria.

English version: Vyara Popova

По публикацията работи: Veneta Pavlova

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