About Josif Pančić
Josif Pančić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јосиф Панчић; born Josip Pančić; April 17, 1814 – February 25, 1888) was a Serbian botanist, physician, professor and academic. Born in the First French Empire, in present-day Croatia, he earned his medical degree in Hungary before moving to Serbia. He extensively documented the flora of Serbia, and is credited with having classified many species of plants which were unknown to the botanical community at that time. Pančić is credited with discovering the Serbian spruce. He is regarded as the father of Serbian botany. == Life == === Early life and studies === Josif Pančić was born in Ugrine, near Bribir, in the Vinodol region, then part of the Illyrian Provinces of the First French Empire. Pančić was the fourth son of Pavel Pančić and his wife Margarita. His paternal grandfather, who came from the area around Niš, had served in a volunteer battalion of the Austrian Imperial Army during the Austro-Turkish War. According to tradition, the Pančić family hailed from Herzegovina and settled in Ugrini in olden times. Some sources claim that Pančić was of Bunjevci origin, some describe him as of Croat origin, while some sources describe him as of Serb origin.
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