Nikolai Vasilyevich Sklifosovsky is an outstanding Ukrainian and Russian surgeon.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on March 25 (April 6 according to the Gregorian calendar) in 1836 in the village of Karantin near Dubossary in the Kherson province.
He came from a poor family of a clerk and was brought up in an orphanage.
He was educated at the Odessa gymnasium, and later also graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Moscow University.
Career
After graduating from Moscow University in 1859, Sklifosovsky worked at the Odessa City Hospital.
In 1863, he defended his doctoral dissertation “On the blood primate tumor”, and from 1866 he trained in Great Britain, France and Germany.
As a military surgeon, he participated in the Austro-Prussian, Franco-Prussian and Russo-Ottoman wars.
In 1870-1871 he was a professor at Kyiv University. Later he worked in medical institutions in St. Petersburg and Moscow. He also headed the surgical clinic of Moscow University.
In 1897, he organized the XII International Congress of Surgeons in Moscow.
In particular, Sklifosovsky was one of the first surgeons in the Russian Empire who began to widely use asepsis, antiseptics and operations under anesthesia. He also supported the development of women’s medical education and the creation of a medical faculty at Odessa University.
On his initiative, a monument to Nikolai Pirogov was erected in Moscow.
Death
In 1900, due to a serious illness, Sklifosovsky settled in his estate in Yakivtsi near Poltava. There he died of a stroke.
During his life on the estate, he was engaged in gardening and treated local peasants free of charge.
Marital Status
During his life, Sklifosovsky was married twice. The first wife was Elisabeth Morgen, the second was Sophia von Schilder-Schuldner.
It is known about 10 children of the surgeon – 4 from the first marriage and 6 from the second. Only daughter Olga survived to a very old age.
