Petar Beron
Encyclopedia
- Petar Beron is also the name of a prominent political figure in present-day Bulgaria.
Dr. Petar Beron (c. 1799, Kotel
Kotel, Bulgaria
Kotel is a town in central Bulgaria, part of Sliven Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Kotel Municipality. As of december 2009, the town has a population of 6,232 inhabitants....
–21 March 1871) was a famous Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n educator. He created the first modern Bulgarian primer, erroneously called the Fish Primer (Рибен буквар, Riben bukvar) because of the dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
drawn in the end of the book (dolphins are mammals, unlike fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
).
Biography
Petar Beron was born around 1800, probably in 1799, in the town of KotelKotel, Bulgaria
Kotel is a town in central Bulgaria, part of Sliven Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Kotel Municipality. As of december 2009, the town has a population of 6,232 inhabitants....
in a rich family of handcraftsmen and merchants. In Kotel he received his primary education
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
at the church school
Church school
A church school is a place of education, the precise nature of which varies from one national jurisdiction to another.The State of Alabama defines a church school as follows:...
of Stoyko Vladislavov
Sophronius of Vratsa
Saint Sophronius of Vratsa , born Stoyko Vladislavov , was a Bulgarian cleric and one of the leading figures of the early Bulgarian National Revival....
and Rayno Popovich. He furthered his education in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, where he entered the school of Greek educator Konstantin Vardalach. The latter, famous pedagogist and encyclopaedist at the time, has significantly influenced Beron's development as a scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
and philosopher.
He worked in Bucharest and Craiova
Craiova
Craiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...
, but after several years of general practice quit his job and started a business in merchandise. Fifteen years later, having made a fortune, he went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he rented an apartment, where he started his real scientific career. His ambition was to study all the human knowledge by that time and to make a nature-philosophical evaluation by creating a new Panepisteme. His encyclopaedism was remarkable. Dr. Beron spoke nine languages and wrote about 30 volumes, not counting two dictionaries, an atlas, his doctoral dissertation (written in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
), and the Fish Primer.
Scientific work
There are certain facts, which come to show Dr. Beron's standing among scientists of the time. On the session of the Royal Academy of Science in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, held on 20 June 1850, Sir John Lee
John Lee
- Politicians and government officials :*John Lee, Baron Lee of Trafford , former Minister and Conservative Member of Parliament for Pendle, 1979–1992...
presented his work On the System of Atmospherology and acknowledged Beron's activity. In 1853 Dr. Beron was invited by the Association of Natural Sciences in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
where he read an article titled Earth before the Deluge. In 1855 he published his Slavic Philosophy in the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, where an outline of his Panepisteme is featured. In 1858 Origins of Physical and Natural Sciences and of Metaphysical and Moral Sciences was printed in the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
The next two years were devoted to a huge cosmographical atlas with descriptions. The maps in the atlas were designed by the famous Bulgarian painter Nicolaus Pavlovich. But the height of his scientific endeavours was the Panepisteme, in seven volumes, which was published in French in the beginning of 1861. Until the end of his life on 21 March 1871 he was devoted to this interesting and creative task.
Philosophical views
Dr. Beron spent some 25 years of his life in Paris and other European cities. He seriously and systematically studied western philosophy and culture, witnessing the endeavours of classical positivismPositivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
, most notably of his contemporary Auguste Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
, to replace materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
and idealism with a third line in philosophy. However, Beron sincerely believed in the independence of his philosophy Panepisteme. He considered Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
to be the ultimate scientific authority. These are the main influences on Beron's beliefs in philosophy and logic.
Beron Point
Beron Point
Beron Point is a point on the southwest coast of Robert Island, Antarctica situated 4.5 km southeast of Negra Point, 1.7 km west of Bajo Nunatak, 1.8 km west-northwest of Zahari Point, and 3.7 km northwest of Edwards Point, as well as 5 km northeast of Ash Point on...
on Robert Island
Robert Island (South Shetland Islands)
Robert Island or Mitchells Island or Polotsk Island or Roberts Island is an island long and wide, situated between Nelson Island and Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands. Robert Island is located at . Surface area...
, South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
, Antarctica is named for Petar Beron.
Beron is portrayed on the obverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
of the Bulgarian 10,000 levs
Bulgarian lev
The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion".It is speculated that Bulgaria, as a member of the European Union will adopt the Euro in 2015 .- First lev, 1881–1952 :...
banknote issued in 1997 and of the 10 levs
Bulgarian lev
The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion".It is speculated that Bulgaria, as a member of the European Union will adopt the Euro in 2015 .- First lev, 1881–1952 :...
banknote issued in 1999 and 2008.