Khotovitskii, Stepan Fomich

Born in 1796 (according to some sources, 1794), in the village of Krasilov, Starokonstantinov District, Volyn’ Province; died Mar. 30 (Apr. 11), 1885, in St. Petersburg. Russian physician, one of the founders of pediatrics in Russia.

In 1817, Khotovitskii graduated from St. Petersburg Medical and Surgical Academy. Beginning in 1822 he taught obstetrics, forensic medicine, and medical criminology at the academy; he was made a professor there in 1830. In 1832 he headed an independent subdepartment of obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics.

Khotovitskii was the first Russian to teach a complete course in children’s diseases at the Medical and Surgical Academy (from 1836). He was also the author of Pediatrics (1847), the first textbook on pediatrics in Russia. Other publications included Medical and Social Handbook for Church Schools (1844, a handbook of school hygiene), On Malignant Anthrax (1831), and On Cholera (1832).