“Great men are very rare. They are worth knowing. They give impulse and stimulus to lesser men. They make the world more worthwhile for others to live in because of their presence in it”.
“Graham Lusk”
Dr. Mohammad Gharib was born in a noble and religious family in Tehran in 1910. His father, the late Ali-Asghar Gharib, was from Garakan, a city in Center of Iran in Markazi Province. His primary schooling was in Siroos School, and he completed his secondary schooling in Dar-ol Fonoun.
In 1928, he went to France with the first group of Iranian students, and continued his studies in the field of medicine in one of the best medical centers, supervised by famous scientists. In France, the young physician’s enthusiasm helped him pass the internship examination at Paris. This started the academic carrier of Dr. Gharib. His subsequent flair in the general aspects of childhood diseases was due, in no small measure, to his having received his pediatric training in Paris supervised by renowned physicians and scientists. He completed his thesis, the apnea of prematurity, successfully and returned home (Iran) in 1939.
In 1939, he got married to Miss Zahra Gharib, the daughter of the late Aghamirza-Abdolazim-Khan Gharib, and the results of this marriage were two sons and two daughters. His sons are now physicians. Figure 1 shows the physicians in Gharib family.
Upon his return from France, Dr. Gharib became a staff member of the Department of Pediatrics at Razi Hospital affiliated to Tehran University School of Medicine. Dr. Gharib was internationally known for his vast knowledge of general pediatrics. He was the Chairman of the Departments of Pediatrics at Razi Hospital, Hezar Takht-e-Khabi Hospital (now called Imam Khomeini Hospital), and Children’s Medical Center. These departments gained much fame throughout Iran and the Middle East region for their work in pediatrics. After completion of the building of Children’s Medical Center in 1968 (Dr. Gharib and the late Dr. Hassan Ahari were among the pioneers who established the Children’s Medical Center), he continued his research and teaching in this center. Dr. Gharib can be recognized as the one who first established a scientific base for pediatrics in Iran, and during the next half a century he built and directed the first modern, scientific, and full-time pediatric department in Iran. In 1941, he published his book entitled “Diseases of Children”, the first known textbook of pediatrics written by an Iranian author. In 1946, the new edition of his book was published. With the late Dr. Hassan Ahari, he wrote a book in two volumes entitled “The Problems in Pediatrics” which is still worth reading.
He was the founder of the Iranian Society of Pediatrics and for many years was the chairman of this society. He was one of the eminent pediatricians in the International Society of Pediatrics, and was once elected as a member of this society.
The last years of his life were the best teaching classes for his students. Even the deadly disease, cancer, for a man who knew everything about it, could not prevent him from further teaching, examination of the patients, and helping the poor and underprivileged people. He eventually succumbed to cancer at the age of 65.
He only missed a few days of his life from pediatric teaching and discussion. Dr. Gharib was a pioneer. He was a man of eminent personality. He had great influence in raising the level of pediatric medicine particularly at Tehran University School of Medicine. His methods were also adopted by many of his followers, as gradually returned from their European and North American training periods. The success of his disciples, for example Dr. Siadati, Dr. Khatami, Dr. Farhoodi, Dr. Bodaghi, and other pediatricians in private practice helped the discipline get more attractive and popular. His goals were an excellent service to society, a propitious field for pediatric teaching, and a fertile environment for research on the diseases of childhood. During the middle and last third of the 20th century, almost all pediatricians in Iran could trace their training and mentorship to Dr. Gharib. His scientific achievements were so extensive that they cannot be summarized here. Dr. Gharib was not only a physician but a philosopher and a man of extremely deep feelings -a complete physician.
With deep regrets, the Iranian Society of Pediatrics was informed of the death of Dr. Gharib on 20th January 1975. He was a giant in the field of pediatrics, and his contributions hold a significant place in the history of pediatrics in Iran. It was a loss to Iranian pediatrics. Dr. Gharib has passed to the next generation the sense of commitment to scientific approach and social concerns that are the hallmarks of pediatrics.
Dr. Gharib was a great man dedicated to healthy development of children. We, in the Iranian Society of Pediatrics, will miss his sage advice. We always remember him. May his sole rest in peace.
“The physician must never forget that medical art has a higher range and aim than the prescription of drugs or even of food and hygienic means, and when neither of these avails, it is still no small portion of his art to rid his patient’s path off thorns if he cannot make it bloom with roses”.
Alfred Stille
