Portrait
details:
Plaster bust, undated held by the Medical School; portrait in
Roctor's office
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Temistocles
Zammit
Professor
of Chemistry, Rector
Born: Valletta 30/09/1864, died: 02/11/1935. Education: Lyceum, University of Malta;
specialised in bacteriology in London
and Paris.
Qualifications:
M.D. [Malta,
1889]. Career:
Government
Health Service
- 1890
appointed government analyst with the department of health. Government
Civil Service - 1903
appointed curator and later (1924) director of the National Museum. University
of Malta
- 1897
appointed university examiner in physics; 1905-20 appointed Professor
of
Chemistry; 1920-1926 served as University Rector. Achievements: 1903
devised a method for the isolation of the Mediterranean Fever microbe
from
patients' blood; 1904 nominated Maltese representative on the
Mediterranean
Fever Commission and identified the goat as the primary source for the
infection. He published as number of papers relating to medicine. He
also was a
co-founder of La Rivista Medica. In
archaeology, Zammit was to carry out important excavations at Hal
Saflieni
Hypogeum and Tarxien Temples
where he identified the Tarxien Cemetery
phase datable to the Bronze Age. He wrote extensively (about 44
publications)
about his findings at these sites and about other archaeological sites
in Malta;
besides publishing an overview of Maltese history "Malta -
The Islands and their History" [A.C. Aquilina, Malta,
1926]. He also contributed to Maltese literature writing a series of
short
stories in Il-Malti often with folkloristic
elements. He also wrote a geography book in Maltese entitled "Taghlim fuq id-Dinja", and a study
about the sociological and geographical expansion of Sliema "Tas-Sliema
u San Giljan" [Malta,
1930]. He served on a number of government boards and commissions. In
1911 was
nominated Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George; 1920
awarded
the Mary Kingsley Medal; 1920 awarded a D.Litt. (hon. causa)
from the University of Oxford; 1930 created Knight
Bachelor by King George V.
References:
C. Briffa, G. Lanfranco: Zammit,
Temistocles. Maltese Biographies of the
twentieth century (eds. M.J. Sciavone, L.J. Scerri). PIN, Malta, 1997,
p.586-587; H.V.
Wyatt: Sir Temistocles Zammit. His honours and an annotated
bibliography of his
medical work. Maltese Medical Journal,
2000, 12(1,2):p.27-30
Personal
artifacts:
Two certificates, two clinical bags and minor surgical
instrument set belonging to Prof. Zammit
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