- 10 July 2020
- admin
- 0 Comments
- Senza categoria
Tribute given to the preeminent Peter Melikishvili
Peter Melikishvili, the first rector of the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, was given an honorary tribute on the 170th anniversary of his birth (11 July 1850 – 2020). A monument marking the burial ground of Melikishvili is found on the University campus in Tbilisi where the ceremony took place. Words and gestures of honour and tribute were marked by the presence of the Rector Dr. George Sharvashidze, Faculty members and a select number of students. Also present was the Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia, Msgr. José A. Bettencourt, the Apostolic Administrator for Latin Catholics in the Caucasus, Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, and members of the Catholic Cultural Commission of Georgia. Peter Melikishvili was a renowned chemist with numerous academic works published to his name. He is buried on the grounds of the main campus building originally financed by another Georgian Catholic family, the Zubalashvili brothers. Such preeminent figures as Zakaria Paliashvili, Petre Otskheli, Simon Kaukhchishvili, Peter Umikashvili, Mikheil Tamarasvili and Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani, to name but a few, were prominent Catholics and patriotic Georgians, whose names rank among world renowned figures for their service and contributions in various fields. The Catholic Cultural Commission of Georgian and Catholic Church was proud to join the ceremony organized by the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University to honour and pay tribute to Peter Melikishvili who served his country and humanity with distinction.
The Apostolic Nuncio payed tribute to Peter Melikishvili with the following words.
Dr. George Sharvashidze,
Rector of the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University,
Professors and Faculty members,
Excellency Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto,
Distinguished Guests and friends,
It gives me great pleasure to pay tribute to a great and distinguished Georgian, Peter Melikishvili. Today we honour the 170 anniversary of his birth.
He was the first rector of this prestigious Georgian institution of higher academic learning. Peter Melikishvili was a world class scientist with numerous publications to his name. In honouring Peter Melikishvili, we honour this University and all of you, professors, faculty members and students who selflessly dedicate yourselves to academic excellence for the good of the Institution, the Nation and of humanity.
Faith and scientific reason originate from one God. Faith and reason are complementary to each other. Where science ceases in its empirical reasoning, God offers a further dimension to understanding. For this reason we are proud of the academic standard and contribution made to your University by this great Georgian patriot and devoted catholic.
Buried here on this great University campus, we also recall the economic support and contribution made to this Institution by the Georgian Catholic Zubalashvili family. In many ways, for a Catholic, being here today at the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, it is like coming home.
We all build on the solid and good work of our predecessors. Catholics are Georgians, they are patriots and builders of bridges to the greater and wider world we live in. We take this occasion to congratulate and wish all of you much successes in your academic achievements. Thank you.
Petre Melikishvili
1850-1927
(by Irakli Javakhishvili)
Petre Melikishvili was born on June 29, 1850, in Tbilisi, in the family of Georgian Catholics. His parents moved from Akhaltsikhe to the capital. Peter was brought up in an educated family – his father made a great contribution to the establishment of the Georgian printing house. Petre was Georgian chemist, first rector of Tbilisi University (1918) and at the same time head of the Department of Organic Chemistry from 1918 to 1927, and a Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1927).
In 1900, Melikishvili, together with Lev Pizarzewski, received the highest award of the St. Petersburg Academy – Lomonosov Prize for Monograph “peracids and peroxides”, published in 1899. This work was highly appreciated by Dmitry Mendeleev, who saw in it the strong confirmation of his own system. In 1927, Petre Melikishvili was elected a Corresponding Member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
From 1918, Petre Melikishvili served as Rector of Tbilisi State University (without salary), Dean of the Faculty and Head of the Department of Organic Chemistry. He founded several chemistry laboratories, two departments and created Georgian chemical terminology.
Petre Melikishvili paid special attention to the study of Georgia’s natural resources – minerals and agricultural products. He put a lot of effort into creating Georgian chemical terminology. He was a member of many scientific councils, a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. Prizes named after him were awarded at the Georgian Academy of Sciences and Tbilisi State University.
Petre Melikishvili together with Vasil Petriashvili founded the Georgian Chemical School. He studied the synthesis of some representatives of organic acids and their derivatives, physico-chemical properties. His work on these issues greatly contributed to the development of the theory of the structure of substances, Melikishvili was the first to adopt a class of organic compounds called glycidic acids.
Petre Melikishvili showed great interest not only in the youth, but also in the society as a whole. His disciple D. Jorjikia recalls that “once, in winter, Petre Melikishvili entered late in the evening without a coat. The watchman was worried and asked, “Mr. Peter, why are not you wearing your overcoat?” He said: “On the way, I met someone who was barefoot, who was neither on his feet nor on his body, he was trembling and how couldn’t I share anything with him”.