c. 1450–1494
Yurii Drohobych (Kotermak)
Astronomer and physician, Bologna rector
His book was printed in Rome in 1483, nine years before Columbus reached America. Yurii Drohobych, a young man from the Galician town of Drohobych, became a doctor of medicine, rector of the University of Bologna and a professor in Kraków.
Key accomplishments
- Rector of the University of Bologna (1481–1482), where he taught astronomy and medicine
- Judgement of the Forecast for the Current Year 1483 (Rome, 1483), the first book by a Ukrainian published abroad
- Calculated solar and lunar eclipses and the geographic coordinates of Lviv and Drohobych
- Professor of medicine at Kraków University from 1487
“Master George of Rus’”
Yurii Kotermak was born around 1450 in Drohobych, in the Carpathian foothills. In Europe he was known by the name of his home town, George of Drohobych, and he signed his letters “Master Georgius of Rus’”. As a young man he entered Kraków University, and in 1473 he took his master’s degree there.
Rector in Bologna
Drohobych then went to Italy, to the University of Bologna, one of the oldest in Europe. There he earned doctorates in philosophy and medicine, taught astronomy and medicine, and in 1481–1482 served as the university’s rector.
A book older than the discovery of America
On 7 February 1483 his Latin book, Judgement of the Forecast for the Current Year 1483, came off the press of Eucharius Silber in Rome. It was the first book by a Ukrainian published abroad, and it appeared nine years before Columbus reached America. The title itself names the author a man of Rus’: “Judicium prenosticon Magistri Georgii Drogobicz de Russia”. Besides forecasts, the book covers astronomy, meteorology and geography: Drohobych calculated solar and lunar eclipses and gave the coordinates of Lviv and Drohobych. Only two copies of the book are known.
Professor in Kraków
In 1487 Drohobych returned to Kraków and became a professor of medicine at the university. He also served as astrologer and physician at the court of King Casimir Jagiellon and held the title of royal physician. In the autumn of 1491 the young Nicolaus Copernicus enrolled there; some historians count him among Drohobych’s students. Yurii Drohobych died in Kraków on 4 February 1494.
Why it matters today
Yurii Drohobych showed that a young man from a small Galician town could become a notable figure in the European science of his day. He never hid where he came from: he signed himself “Master Georgius of Rus’”, and in the first book by a Ukrainian published abroad he gave the coordinates of Lviv and of his home town. So, more than five centuries ago, the name of his land was heard in the universities of Bologna and Kraków. Anyone who goes abroad to study today can take him as an example: you can belong in great science and still remember where you come from.
