Petrović was born on 6 May 1868, in Belgrade, as the first child of Nikodim, a professor of theology, and Milica (née Lazarević).
He finished the First Belgrade Gymnasium in 1885, and afterwards enrolled at the natural science-mathematical section of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. At the time when he finished his studies in Serbia in 1889, several Serbian mathematicians who had acquired their doctorate degrees abroad, like Dr. Dimitrije Nešić (at Vienna and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), Dr. Dimitrije Danić (at Jena, 1885) and Bogdan Gavrilović (at Budapest, 1887) were beginning to make a name for themselves. Subsequently, in September 1889, he too went abroad, to Paris to receive further education, and to prepare for the entrance exam to the École Normale Supérieure. He got a degree in mathematical sciences from Sorbonne University in 1891. He worked on preparing his doctoral dissertation, and on 21 June 1894 he defended his PhD degree at the Sorbonne, and received a title Docteur des sciences mathematiques (doctor of mathematical sciences). His doctorate was in the field of differential equations.
In 1894, Petrović became a professor of mathematics at the Belgrade's Grande école (which later became the University of Belgrade). In those days, he was one of the greatest experts for differential equations. He held lectures until his retirement in 1938. In 1897, he became an associate member of the Serbian Royal Academy and associate member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb. He became a full member of the Serbian Royal Academy in 1899, when he was only 31.
In 1882, he became a fisherman apprentice, and in 1895 he took an exam to become a master fisherman. Mihailo Petrović got the nickname "Alas" (river fisher) because of his passion for fishery. He was not only an aficionado, but expert as well. He participated in legislative talks regarding the fishery convention with Romania, and in talks with Austria-Hungary about the protection of the fishery on Sava, Drina and Danube rivers.[4] Alas published expert papers and reports on the fish-fauna found in the Macedonian lakes, such as Skadar Lake and Ohrid Lake.[4] He played violin, and in 1896, founded a musical society named Suz.
He received numerous awards and acknowledgments and was a member of several foreign science academies (Prague, Bucharest, Warsaw, Kraków) and scientific societies. In 1927, when Jovan Cvijić died, members of the Serbian academy proposed Mihailo Petrović as the new president of academy, but the authorities did not accept this proposal. Probable reason for this was the fact that Mihailo Petrović Alas was first a private tutor and mentor and later a close friend of the prince Đorđe P. Karađorđević, the king's brother, who was arrested in 1925, and held in house arrest.
Personal items of Mihailo Petrović
In 1931, members of the academy unanimously proposed Alas for the president of the academy, but authorities again dismissed this proposal. Mathematician and physicist Bogdan Gavrilović, a fellow professor, was nominated instead. In 1939, he became an honorary doctor at the University of Belgrade. In the same year, he received the order of Saint Sava, first class. He also founded the Belgrade School of Mathematics, which produced a number of mathematicians who continued Alas's work. All doctoral dissertations defended on the Belgrade University since 1912 until the Second World War were under his mentorship.
Alas participated in the Balkan Wars and in the First World War as an officer, and after the war he served as a reserve officer. He practised cryptography, and his cipher systems were used by the Yugoslav army until World War II.[citation needed] When the Second World War broke out in Yugoslavia, he was again called into the army and the Germans captured him. After a while, he was released because of illness. On 8 June 1943, professor Petrović died in his home in Kosančićev Venac Street in Belgrade.
Due to his scientific work and results, Mihailo Petrović Alas is among the greatest Serbian mathematicians as well as one of the 100 most prominent Serbs. In the Association for Culture, Art and International Cooperation "Adligat" in Belgrade there is an extensive fund of documents from the legacy of Mihailo Petrović Alas, including his childhood photos, letters from his grandfather who educated him, diplomas, notes, a whole bundle of published and unpublished manuscripts, as well as numerous exam reports signed by him, among which is the report on the defense of the graduation exam jointly signed by Mihailo Petrović and Milutin Milanković.[6]
^"Документи Михаила Петровића Аласа". Србија међу књигама. 5–18: 16. 2018. ISSN2620-1801 – via Удружењe за културу, уметност и међународну сарању „Адлигат”.
^Trifunović, Dragan (1991). Bard srpske matematike Mihailo Petrović Alas, Prilog intelektualnoj biografiji. Belgrade: Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva.
Notes
Trifunović, Dragan (1991). Bard srpske matematike Mihailo Petrović Alas, Prilog intelektualnoj biografiji. Belgrade: Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva.
Further reading
Notice sur les travaux scientifiques de Mishel Petrovitch. Paris: Press. 1922.
Publications mathematiques de l'Universite de Belgrade. Belgrade. 1938.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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