Sima Lozanić | Origin of Street Names

Simeon Sima Lozanić (1847 - 1935) was one of the most prominent Serbian scientists at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries - a chemist, one of the first professors at the University of Belgrade and its first rector, minister, diplomat, and academician.

He was born in then still "Turkish" Belgrade, into a civil servant family that emphasized education from an early age.

After completing his law studies in Belgrade, he studied chemistry in Berlin and Zurich, where he obtained his doctorate in 1870. He then returned to his homeland and became a professor of chemistry at the Great School. Thanks to his textbooks on organic and inorganic chemistry, as well as chemical technology, new scientific theories reached Serbia at the same time as the largest European universities.

Besides his significant contributions to the development of chemical science in Serbia (he introduced students to Mendeleev's periodic table of elements for the first time), he left a notable mark in global chemistry. He studied the process of electrosynthesis, discovered over 20 new compounds, determined the composition of completely new minerals (milosine, alexandrolite, and avalite), and conducted research on water, soil, ores, and meteorites.

At the age of 43, he became a regular member of the Serbian Royal Academy (predecessor to the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts), where he served as president on two occasions.

As a highly esteemed and credible figure, while continuing his educational mission, Sima Lozanić also served as Minister of Economy and Foreign Affairs, in two mandates, in both the Obrenović and Karađorđević governments.

When in 1905 the Great School was elevated to the status of the University of Belgrade, Sima Lozanić became its first rector and one of only eight permanent university professors (alongside him were Jovan Cvijić - geographer, Mihailo Petrović Alas - mathematician, Jovan Žujović - geologist, Ljubomir Jovanović - historian, Andra Stevanović - architect, Dragoljub Pavlović - philosopher, and Milić Radovanović - economist).

His famous speech on the far greater importance of education, as opposed to military force, in the development, strengthening of the state, and achieving national unity, remains memorable from the ceremonial opening of the University of Belgrade.

The first honorary doctor of the University of Belgrade, he was a recipient of decorations for his contributions to science, culture, economy, and industry in Serbia, as well as several prestigious accolades for his contributions to global scientific thought.

Simeon Lozanić passed away at the age of 88 in Belgrade, where he was also buried.

In honor of the "first knight of our science," several streets in Belgrade, Kragujevac, and Negotin bear the name of Sime Lozanić.