Bonchev, Stefan

Born in Gabrovo on January 17 (30 in the new style) in 1870. He graduated from the April Gymnasium, then entered the University of Geneva at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and graduated in 1891, worked as a teacher in the city of Haskovo . Studying the Haskovo region, Bonchev wrote his first scientific work and compiled a geological map, which he presented at the Plovdiv Fair . Thanks to this work, he managed to get a scholarship to study in Zurich and Munich with a degree in tectonics. After training, he tried to become an assistant at Sofia University, but failed to do this and until 1919 worked as a teacher. In 1920, he was elected professor at the Department of Geology and Paleontology at Sofia University, and headed it until 1940. He taught courses in General Geology, Historical Geology, Sources and Mineral Deposits, Ore Deposits, and Bulgaria Geology.

Bonchev explored the western part of Stara Planina and the Iskarskoe Gorge. Opened Svogsky anthracite coal basin. In 1930, he initiated a series of geological studies in Bulgaria, began to create a geological map of Bulgaria at a scale of 1: 126 000. He founded the Bulgarian Geological Society ^[3] . In general, Bonchev played a large role in the development of Bulgarian geology and the methods of its teaching, having trained a number of qualified specialists.

He died on February 21, 1947 in Sofia. His son Ekim also became a famous geologist.

Bonchev was known not only as a scientist, but also as a teacher who trained sufficiently qualified specialists due to his ability to find an approach to each of the students. A significant role in the preparation of Bonchev himself as a teacher was played by the April gymnasium of the city of Gabrovo, during which he received most of his secondary education and formed the basis of his character. In his memoirs, he described the following incident from his life ^[4] :

Descriptive geometry is not taught today, but I learned a lot in this regard from the Gabrovo resident Vasil Karagezov . I was one of the most powerful students in this discipline. At the end of the year, on the eve of the annual exams, I taught everything until late at night, because I did not want to disgrace myself. In the morning, with a heavy head and, possibly, eyes swollen from insomnia and exhaustion, I appeared for an exam. I was given a task that really was one of the most difficult, but did not go beyond my education. But something unexpected happened to me: it was drumming in my ears, as if darkness and redness appeared before my eyes, I was stunned, and the task seemed to me like an impregnable peak. I frankly said: "Mr. teacher, I can’t solve such a problem." But instead of getting angry and putting on a unit or deuce, that is, “to overwhelm me,” Mr. Karagezov came up to me, put his hand on his shoulder, looked calmly at me and importantly said: “You are mistaken, I’m sure you can and a more difficult task to solve, but I see that you are embarrassed - only when I say that you cannot solve, then you have the right to say that. Come on, go out for a walk and come back when you rest. ” I did as he said, and in half an hour I returned to class. Mr. Karagezov let me solve this problem. I solved it very easily, he gave me the second - I coped with it. He gave me a third - even more difficult, and I also decided it, like all the others. "You see, you are not one of those who do not know and cannot, you just overworked." Then I told him that I taught a lot in the evening. “Take it as a rule - prepare for the exam properly, but do not repeat anything in the evening before the exam so that your brain rests and sortes out what you have long learned. If you do this, you will never get confused, ”he said. I have learned the advice of my gracious teacher and have since applied it steadily. Moreover: I gave this advice to hundreds and thousands of my students, and everyone who followed him was very pleased and thanked me repeatedly for this. May this memory of mine serve as a reward, albeit insufficient, to Mr. Karagezov, who proved himself to be a good teacher and person in relation to me at the exam.

Original text (Bulgarian)

Geometry is not descriptive, nor do you teach segashny, canceling much respect for Gabrovsky citizen Vasil Karagozov. Byakh is one, force the disciple on your subject. Nakraya for a year, it will be eaten on an anniversary, learning until the middle years, but not with lawsuits, but shame. The sutrint is removed by the head, and probably by the way, the eyes are exhausted and exhausted. Dadenaty for the solution of the problem, it is truly more than one ot nay-add, but do not take out all the packs. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the size of the camp: go away with a little writing, before you see a little bit and a lot of blacksmithing, all the time, I see how poorly I see the poorly unplanned plan, and most of all frankly Kazakh: “Mr. teacher, I couldn’t solve this problem . ”Instead of yes and no, I write one or two, that is, “Yes, I’m skating”, Mr. Karagozov, bring me closer to me, put the picture on the ramps, I’ve been gently and kindly kazapa: “I think it’s not good, I’m ready to eat the shigur, four of a kind task” decide, but vizhdam, che s smuten - very much ta ka kazha az, che you can’t, but then imash right and you say something. Heide, got out on the side of the road, consume a little, and then reconnoitered, ate. ”On the right side, for some time and half an hour I got into the classroom. Mr. Karagozov mi dade has taken up the task. Reshikh I am a wednag sos nai-golyama woodland, dade mi and friend - and she is eaten. Dade mi and treta - all in all, and she decided to be kind, like a friend. “You see, it’s not si from Tiy, you don’t know and cannot, but you’re enormous.” I told you so much and learned a lot about it. “Let it be foreseen, as a rule, that it’s strengthened, but you don’t take anything into account - leave Togo moshka and reason and let know, Koito Dotogawa si learned. Ako pravishish taka, nikoga nyama yes barkash, kaza toy. The light on my gracious teacher was to assimilate completely and from here to practice steadily. It’s a bad thing: my students and all my students gave me a stotitzi and hiladi, koito sa go out, beat me up a lot, and I said thank you to us for not knowing everything from time to time. For some reason, I’m serving you some kind of repayment, Makar is extremely deficient, but Mr. Karagiozov, some at the end of the show so much good teacher and so much less. ” ^[5] .