Miho Dadić – The Final Scholarship Recipient of the Republic of Dubrovnik at the University of Padua

Abstract

The paper presents the biography of Miho Dadić (1770-1851), a physician born in Dubrovnik. Although he was a contemporary of many other Dubrovnik born physicians, his complete biography has has yet to be published. He is mentioned in the literature by
authors researching the 19th century, often focusing on his medical service or poetic creativity. This study, however, emphasizes his high school and university years, as well as his role as a state physician of the Republic of Dubrovnik. In the Republic of Dubrovnik
young man, both of noble birth and commoner background could obtain a state-financed scholarship. The same criteria applied to all studies and universities, irrespective of social status.
Miho Dadić received a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Padua. He was a last young man to obtained state-financed scholarship at that university before the fall of the Republic of Dubrovnik (1808). Despite disputes with the Republic and the suspension of his scholarship, he successfully completed his studies and began working as a civil service physician in 1803. His biography offers insights into the process of earning
a doctorate at the University of Padua.