Dr. Stamen Grigorov is one of the first world-famous Bulgarian physicians. The famous academician works in the field of microbiology and immunology. His works have been published in Italy and France, and his achievements have reached the world medical community. But perhaps the scientist's most important discovery is the isolation of the bacterium "Lactobacillus bulgaricus", which has become part of the natural treasures of Bulgaria.
Stamen Grigorov was born in 1878 in the village of Studen Izvor in Trani. He grew up at the very dawn of the Bulgarian state and managed to take advantage of the developing culture in the newly formed country. The future academician graduated from high school in Sofia, then went to study natural sciences in Montpellier, France, and specialized in Geneva.
During his doctoral studies in the Swiss city, Dr. Grigorov wrote a dissertation on the topic of "Contribution to the pathogenesis of appendicitis". With this work, he not only managed to defend his doctoral degree, but also to attract the attention of the prominent bacteriologist Leon Massol. The Bulgarian began working as an assistant to the famous academician, and at the same time he married his wife - Darinka from Tran.
Since the doctor's wife lives in Bulgaria, she sends Grigorov products that are mainly present in her native cuisine. One of these dishes is yogurt, which was already known to be very beneficial for health. The young doctor decided to examine the specialty under a microscope, as he suspected that the beneficial effects of yogurt were due to some specific type of microorganisms.
That is how Stamen Grigorov managed to discover the rod-shaped bacterium Lactobacillus bulgaricus. The culture was isolated in 1905. The news of this quickly reached the famous Russian biologist Ilya Mechnikov, who at that time worked at the "Louis Pasteur" Institute in Paris. At that time, Mechnikov was studying a variety of microorganisms, trying to connect them with the duration of human life.
Grigorov introduced his discovery to the Russian scientist, who presented it to the academic society in Paris in 1908. In honor of its discoverer, the bacterium was renamed from the original "Bacillus A" to "Lactobacillus bulgaricus", in honor of the Bulgarian doctoral student. The presentation of the isolated culture opened many doors for the Bulgarian, but he chose to remain in his homeland.
In the autumn of 1905, Dr. Stamen Grigorov decided to return to the town of Tran, where he worked as the chief physician at the local hospital. A year later, he was engaged in the development of a vaccine against tuberculosis, his developments being based on the works of Robert Koch. The academician published his findings in the famous French magazine “La presse medicale“. However, the vaccine was first applied only in the early 1920s in Italy.
Dr. Stamen Grigorov continued his medical activities in his homeland. He participated in the Balkan War as a field doctor, and during the Allied War he took care of his wounded brother, who unfortunately did not recover from his wounds and died in the hands of the Bulgarian academician in 1913.
Stamen Grigorov's last military participation was during the First World War. The medic was sent to the borders of present-day Macedonia, where he had to take care of suppressing a cholera epidemic that had broken out among the soldiers. The prominent scientist managed to isolate penicillin mold with the help of several soldiers who accidentally came across "healthy bread", which, when consumed, protected men from serious illness. For his actions, Grigorov received the awards "Order of Bravery" and “Red Cross“.
Until the end of his life, he worked as a doctor in several district hospitals, as well as experimenting with his anti-tuberculosis vaccine together with the prominent physician Paraskev Stoyanov. In the 1930s, he went to Italy, where his discovery was already being tested in the form of immunization. He returned to Bulgaria in 1944. In 1945, Dr. Stamen Grigorov died of natural causes, and his developments were continued by his son - Alexander Grigorov.