Mina Minovici (; April 30, 1858 – April 25, 1933) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

forensic Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

scientist, known for his extensive research regarding cadaverous alkaloids,

putrefaction Putrefaction is the fifth stage of death, following pallor mortis, livor mortis, algor mortis, and rigor mortis. This process references the breaking down of a body of an animal Post-mortem interval, post-mortem. In broad terms, it can be view ...

, simulated mind diseases, and

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

Studies

He was born in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

into a family of Aromanian origin, older brother of

Ștefan Minovici Ștefan Minovici (July 18, 1867 – December 29, 1935) was a Romanian chemist. The brother of Mina Minovici and Nicolae Minovici, he became a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1925. Education Minovici was born in Râmnicu Sărat ...

and

Nicolae Minovici Nicolae S. Minovici (23 October 1868 – 26 June 1941) was a Romanian forensic scientist and criminologist who served as head of his country's anthropometric service. He is known for his studies investigating connections between tattooing and cr ...

. After graduating from the Superior School of Pharmacy he worked as pharmacist for the Eforie Civilian Hospitals. He then attended the

Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy () or University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, commonly known by the abbreviation UMFCD, is a public health sciences university in Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and larges ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, graduating in 1885. Right after that he started his forensic training at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

with Professor

Paul Brouardel Paul Camille Hippolyte Brouardel (13 February 1837, Saint-Quentin, Aisne – 23 July 1906) was a French pathologist, hygienist, and member of the Académie Nationale de Médecine. In 1858 he became an externe at the Hôpital Cochin in Paris, and ...

, and soon after he became his assistant and advisee. Minovici defended his Ph.D. thesis, titled ''Etude médico-légale sur la mort subite à la suite de coups sur l'abdomen et le larynx'', on June 7, 1888.

Career

In 1889 Minovici was appointed assistant in the Chemistry Department at University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest. In 1892 he became Director of the . Inaugurated on December 20 of that year, the institute was the first of his kind in the world. The city of Bucharest spent 87,000 lei, and the Romanian government allocated an additional 50,000 lei for the building, which was designed by architect

Cristofi Cerchez Cristofi Cerchez (4 July 1872 – 15 January 1955) was a Romanian engineer and architect. He built approximately 50 buildings in various cities of Romania over his nearly 50-year career. His architecture covers a wide range of styles from tradit ...

. The old National Institute of Forensic Medicine "Mina Minovici" was demolished in 1985, while the new headquarters of the Institute were completed in 1989. In 1896 Minovici became a professor of forensics at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

's Faculty of Law. In 1919 he was elected Dean of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, being renewed in this position in 1923, 1925 and 1930. In 1923, together with the poet

Radu D. Rosetti Radu D. Rosetti or Rossetti (December 13 Constantin Ciopraga, ''Literatura română între 1900 și 1918'', pp. 296–297. Iași: Editura Junimea, 1970 or 18,Șerban Cioculescu, "Amintiri. Radu D. Rosetti", in ''România Literară'', Issue 39/198 ...

and the politician Grigore Trancu-Iași, he founded Nirvana Society (later ''Cenușa'', "The Ash"), which operated the Bucharest Crematorium. He died in Bucharest on April 25, 1933 and was buried at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

Legacy

Minovici was the founder of the modern medico-legal system in

, and was one of the most prominent personalities in this field of activity in Europe at that time. He was the first to expand the concept of the morgue and created the term "legal medicine" as a way of organizing research, teaching and forensic activity. The year 2008 was declared the "Mina Minovici Year" in Romanian medicine; this was prompted by a triple anniversary: 150 years from his birth, 120 years from the defense of his thesis and election as member of the French Society of Forensic Medicine, and 75 years from his death.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minovici, Mina 1858 births 1933 deaths Forensic scientists People from Brăila 19th-century Romanian scientists Romanian inventors Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni University of Paris alumni Academic staff of the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Burials at Bellu Cemetery Romanian people of Aromanian descent People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia