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Petras Avižonis

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Petras Avižonis
Born(1875-04-17)17 April 1875
PasvalysKovno Governorate,Russian Empire
Died17 October 1939(1939-10-17)(aged 64)
Kaunas,Lithuania
Resting placePetrašiūnai Cemetery
NationalityLithuanian
Alma materSaint Petersburg University
Dorpat University
OccupationOphthalmologist
MovementLithuanian National Revival
Board member ofSociety of Lithuanian Eye Doctors
SpouseSofija Gruzdytė (1872–1963)
ChildrenHistorianKonstantinas Avižonis[lt](1909–1969)
DoctorVytautas Avižonis[lt](1906–2000)
AwardsOrder of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas(1932)[1]

Petras Avižonis(17 April 1875 – 17 October 1939) was a Lithuanianophthalmologist,rector of theUniversity of Lithuania(1925–1926) and a political figure.

Avižonis studied biology at theSaint Petersburg Universitybut transferred to theDorpat Universityto study medicine in 1897. As a student, he was active participant in theLithuanian National Revival,collaborating withPovilas Višinskis,Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė,Julija Žymantienė(Žemaitė). In 1897, he wrote a smallLithuanian grammar.In summer 1900, he worked with linguistJonas Jablonskisto write a more substantial grammar, which became highly influential in creating the standard Lithuanian language. Avižonis served as an army doctor with theImperial Russian Armyin theRusso-Japanese WarandWorld War I.He became interested in ophthalmology and completed his PhD in 1914. He particularly focused on treating and preventingtrachoma.In independent Lithuania, he taught ophthalmology from 1920 to his death, organized ophthalmology section at theUniversity of Lithuania,opened and headed a modern eye clinic, organized professional societies for doctors. Avižonis contributed to numerous Lithuanian periodicals, published separate brochures on medical and societal topics, and authored over one hundred academic articles. He attended international conferences and was elected to the board of the International Organization Against Trachoma in 1938. His main work, the 844-page guide toeye diseases,was unsurpassed for over fifty years.

Biography[edit]

Early life and education[edit]

Avižonis was born on 17 April [O.S.5 April] 1875 inPasvalys.[1]His family owned about 16 hectares (40 acres) of land and had eight children (three sons and five daughters).[2]His parents, activebook smugglerswho helpedJurgis Bielinishide the books,[3]wanted him to become a priest and sent him to a private four-year German school in Mitau (present-dayJelgava) in 1884.[1]After the graduation, he refused to attend a priest seminary and instead continued his education at theMitau Gymnasiumwhich was attended by many other Lithuanian students, later prominent figures in Lithuanian politics and culture. These students organized an illegal student organization, which Avižonis reorganized into the Infant Society in 1890. The society promoted theLithuanian national consciousnessand helped distributebanned Lithuanian books.[1]Upon graduation in 1894, Avižonis worked as a tutor for a year to save up money for university studies. He also received financial aid fromŽiburėlissociety. He chose biology at theSaint Petersburg University.Due to strictRussificationpolicies, as a Lithuanian and non-Eastern Orthodox, Avižonis could only work in Lithuania if he became a priest, a doctor, or an attorney. Therefore, he transferred to theDorpat Universityto study medicine in 1897 and graduated in 1900.[1]

In Saint Petersburg, he became active among Lithuanian students, began contributing to Lithuanian periodicalsVarpasandŪkininkas,and helpedPovilas Višinskisedit the first works of writerJulija Žymantienė(Žemaitė). In 1898, he published his first booklet, a popular explanation of some basic topics inearth science.In June 1898, Avižonis, Višinkis,Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė,Jadvyga Juškytėand her sister Marija visitedVincas Kudirka,the publisher ofVarpasliving inNaumiestisinSuvalkija.[4]They also visitedTadeusz Dowgird,archaeologist and artist,Petras Kriaučiūnas,teacher andbook smuggler,[5]andKazimieras Jaunius,priest and linguist.[6]In August 1899, Avižonis helped organizing the first Lithuanian-language theater performance, comedyAmerica in the Bathhouse(Amerika pirtyje), inPalanga.After the performance,Liudas Vaineikistook Višinskis and Avižonis toTilsitinEast Prussia,the major publishing center of the illegal Lithuanian press.[7]On their way back, they visitedJuozas Tumas-VaižgantasinKuliaiandSofija PšibiliauskienėnearTryškiai.[8]

He continued to correspond with linguistJonas Jablonskis,former teacher at Mitau, and with his encouragement wrote a smallLithuanian grammarbased on the German-language writings ofFriedrich Kurschatand on works byKazimieras Jaunius.[9]It was the first work that used theLithuanian alphabetas it is used today.[9]When the book could not be printed,Antanas SmetonaandVladas Sirutavičius[lt]made about 100 copies using amimeographin 1898.[10]This grammar was insufficient for Lithuanian needs and in summer 1900 Jablonskis and Avižonis wrote a more substantial grammar, which became highly influential in creating the standard Lithuanian language. It was published in 1901 under thepen namePetras Kriaušaitis (Petras is Avižonis' first name and Kriaušaitis is Jablonskis' pen name).[11]

In Russian Empire[edit]

Upon graduation, he worked as a doctor inAriogala.At the time, he did not specialize and treated all kinds of ailments.[1]In 1901, he married Sofija Gruzdytė, who studiedmidwiferyand massage in Dorpat, contributed to Lithuanian press, and published a translation ofTolstoy'sThe Restoration of Hellin 1908.[12]She was sister-in-law ofVladas Putvinskis.[1]In October 1902, he participated in a meeting ofVarpaspublishers and contributors inDabikinė Manor.The meeting was organized byPovilas Višinskisand attended byJonas Biliūnas,Kazys Grinius,Jurgis Šaulys,Jonas Vileišis,Antanas Smetona,and others. They discussed political ideas and established theLithuanian Democratic Party.[13]In 1903, the couple moved toŽagarėwhere he organized a cooperative, a charitable society, and a shelter for the poor.[1]In 1904, Avižonis assistedJonas Jablonskisin preparing for publication the second volume of the Polish–Lithuanian dictionary, compiled byAntanas Juška.[14]During theRusso-Japanese War,he was drafted to serve as doctor in theImperial Russian Armyand was taken captive by the Japanese. In 1910, he moved toŠiauliai.[1]

Avižonis became interested inophthalmologyafter taking part in an expedition of Russian ophthalmologists toZarasai.[1]He continued his medical education specializing in ophthalmology by attending courses onanthropometrybyFedir Vovk,taking classes at theImperial Clinical Institute of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna[ru],and practicing at the eye clinics of professorsVladimir Dolganov[ru]andAlexander Lutkevich[ru].[1]He defended hisPhD thesison eye ailments inGruzdžiaiandLygumaiarea at theDorpat Universityin 1914.[15]His thesis concluded that blindness in some 60% of cases resulted fromtrachomaand dedicated his efforts in eradicating the infectious disease.[1]

At the same time, Avižonis continued to be active in Lithuanian cultural life. During theRussian Revolution of 1905,his political views shifted towardssocial democracy.[1]Using more than 50 pen names, he contributed numerous articles, often on medical topics, to Lithuanian press, including democraticVilniaus žinios(1905–1909),Lietuvos ūkininkas(1905–1909),Lietuvos žinios,and social democraticDarbininkų balsas(1902),Naujoji Gadynė(1906),Skardas(1907), and others.[15]He also published several booklets:Socialists and Masons(1906),Alcoholism Our Curse(1907),Workers and Society(1908),Earth and Human(1910). Some of the medical articles, published inSveikatasupplement ofLietuvos ūkininkas,were republished as separate brochures.[15]He was a member of theLithuanian Scientific Societyand contributed to its journalLietuvių tauta.[16]He participated in the culturalVarpas Societyin Šiauliai. The society organized music and theater performances, lectures, Lithuanian evenings, etc.[1]

At the outbreak ofWorld War I,Avižonis was again drafted to serve as doctor in the Imperial Russian Army. From December 1914 to June 1916, he worked as a senior doctor in aRed Crosssanitary train and a medical platoon. He then became director of the ophthalmology section of the Central Prison Hospital attached to theButyrka prisonand doctor at the Red Cross Hospital in Moscow.[1]After theFebruary Revolutionin 1917, he joined theRussian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks).[17]He attended the LithuanianPetrograd Seimasin June 1917.[18]

In independent Lithuania[edit]

In June 1918, Avižonis returned to Lithuania taking up residence inŠiauliai.As a member of theLithuanian Communist Party,[17]he was invited byVincas Mickevičius-Kapsukasto become Commissar of Health in the short-livedLithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republicin 1919. Kapsukas also delegated Avižonis to purchase textbooks for the planned university in Vilnius. This episode almost led to his arrest in 1920 when he was accused of being aBolshevikcollaborator.[1]

In independent Lithuania, Avižonis focused his efforts on medicine and departed from politics.[1]He moved toKaunasand organized the Medical Society of Kaunas in May 1919.[14][19]This and other local medical societies organized the Union of Lithuanian Doctors in 1923. Its statute was drafted by Avižonis.[19]From 1920, Avižonis lectured at the Higher Courses, the predecessor of theUniversity of Lithuaniaestablished in 1922. At the new university, he was the dean of the Faculty of Medicine (1923–1924), universityprorector(1924–1925), and rector (1925–1926).[14]He continued to teach ophthalmology andhistory of medicineuntil his death in 1939.[1]In 1930, he established an eye clinic and organized the construction of a modern building. It was a 50-bed hospital that in 1930–1938 treated almost 5,000 inpatients and 217,000 outpatients.[20]The clinic was merged with the Red Cross Hospital in September 1939, just a month prior to his death.[1]

Avižonis was a member of the German (from 1923) and French (from 1930) Societies of Ophthalmology. He attended international conferences and was elected to the board of the International Organization Against Trachoma in 1938.[15]In 1932, he founded the Society of Lithuanian Eye Doctors and chaired it until 1939. He published 134 academic articles on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of various eye diseases in Lithuanian (95 articles inMedicina),[9]Latvian, German, French,[1]contributed articles to theLithuanian Encyclopedia,edited medical journalsMedicina(Lithuanian),Archiv Oftalmologii(Russian),Ophthalmologica(German).[15]His main work – the 844-page guide to eye diseases – was published posthumously in 1940. It remained the only comprehensive Lithuanian-language guide to eye diseases for over half a century.[21]When writing in Lithuanian, Avižonis had to translate or create numerous medical terms – about 250 in total,[21]including some fundamental terms liketinklainė(retina),akiduobė(orbit),lęšiukas(lens).[22]He was interested in linguistics and assistedKazimieras BūgaandJuozas Balčikonisin their efforts of compiling theAcademic Dictionary of Lithuanian.[22]

Avižonis died on 17 October 1939. His funeral was a large public event, attended by many dignitaries.[1]His body was cremated and his ashes stored in a copper urn made byPetras Rimša.Due to World War II, the urn remained unburied until November 1984. The ashes were buried with a public ceremony in thePetrašiūnai Cemetery.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuGaigalaitė, Aldona (1998)."Petras Avižonis"(PDF).Žiemgala(in Lithuanian) (1).ISSN1648-7230.
  2. ^abKazlauskas, Albinas (2008-11-13).Profesorius, medicinos daktaras Petras Avižonis (1875–1939)(in Lithuanian).ISBN978-9955-800-95-8.Retrieved27 April2018.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  3. ^Biržiška, Vaclovas; et al., eds. (1953)."Avižonis, Jonas".Lietuvių enciklopedija(in Lithuanian). Vol. I. Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. p. 503.OCLC14547758.
  4. ^Sprindis, Adolfas (1978).Povilas Višinskis(in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Vaga. pp. 160, 162.OCLC4874806.
  5. ^Sprindis 1978,pp. 165–166.
  6. ^Sprindis 1978,pp. 169–170.
  7. ^Sprindis 1978,p. 192.
  8. ^Sprindis 1978,pp. 193–194.
  9. ^abcBriaukienė, Birutė (2017-05-23)."Oftalmologas Petras Avižonis ir jo lietuviški medicinos terminai".Lietuvos oftalmologija(in Lithuanian).1.ISSN1648-5289.
  10. ^Merkelis, Aleksandras (1964).Antanas Smetona: jo visuomeninė, kultūrinė ir politinė veikla(in Lithuanian). New York: Amerikos lietuvių tautinės sąjunga. p. 44.OCLC494741879.
  11. ^Eidintas, Alfonsas (2015).Antanas Smetona and His Lithuania: From the National Liberation Movement to an Authoritarian Regime (1893-1940).On the Boundary of Two Worlds. Translated byAlfred Erich Senn.Brill Rodopi. p. 19.ISBN9789004302037.
  12. ^Biržiška, Vaclovas; et al., eds. (1953)."Avižonienė-Gruzdytė Sofija".Lietuvių enciklopedija(in Lithuanian). Vol. I. Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. p. 503.OCLC14547758.
  13. ^Sprindis 1978,p. 232.
  14. ^abc"Avižonis, Petras".Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija(in Lithuanian). Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras. 2002-08-14.Retrieved27 April2018.
  15. ^abcdeBiržiška, Vaclovas; et al., eds. (1953)."Avižonis Petras".Lietuvių enciklopedija(in Lithuanian). Vol. I. Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. p. 504.OCLC14547758.
  16. ^Čepėnas, Pranas (1977).Naujųjų laikų Lietuvos istorija.Vol. I. Chicago: Dr. Kazio Griniaus Fondas. p. 470.OCLC3220435.
  17. ^abZinkus, Jonas; et al., eds. (1985–1988). "Avižonis, Petras".Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija(in Lithuanian). Vol. I. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 153.OCLC20017802.
  18. ^Grigaravičius, Algirdas (2013)."Politinė lietuvių veikla Rusijoje 1917 metais".Darbai ir dienos(in Lithuanian).60:63.doi:10.7220/2335-8769.60.2.ISSN1392-0588.S2CID158762379.
  19. ^abLabanauskas, Liutauras (2004)."Tauta laukia ir mūsų, medikų, tvirto žodžio bei darbų".Medicina(in Lithuanian).40(11): 1029.ISSN1010-660X.
  20. ^Lignugarienė, Asta; Petrauskienė, Jadvyga; Kaselienė, Snieguolė (2007)."Lietuvos universiteto (Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto) Medicinos fakulteto Akių klinikos veikla 1922–1938 metais"(PDF).Medicina(in Lithuanian).43(10): 758, 761–762.ISSN1010-660X.
  21. ^abBriaukienė, Birutė (2005)."Pirmajam lietuviškam" Akių ligų vadovui "– 65 metai"(PDF).Medicina(in Lithuanian).41(7): 621–623.ISSN1010-660X.
  22. ^abLignugarienė, Asta; Minevičius, Rolandas (2004)."Prof. P. Avižonio ir gyd. J. Staugaičio rinkiniai Lietuvos medicinos ir farmacijos istorijos muziejuje".Lietuvos muziejų rinkiniai(in Lithuanian).4.ISSN1822-0657.
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