Sociocultural dimension of the activities of Academician Mykola Sumtsov: the experience of organizing an eye hospital in Kharkiv

Abstract

This article explores a little-known episode in the biography of Mykola Sumtsov, a prominent Ukrainian scholar and professor at the Kharkiv University. It focuses on his public efforts to help to organise and open an ophthalmologic hospital in Kharkiv. The study is relevant due to the growing interest both in the socio-cultural role of Ukrainian intellectuals and in shaping national culture and urban development including healthcare systems.

The research uses historical, comparative, analytical, and chronological methods, along with a thesaurus-based approach to scholarly biography. Its aim is to reconstruct this aspect of Sumtsov’s public activity. The article analyses his publications in the Kharkiv press and examines a key source – a letter from the founder of the hospital L. Girshman who asks for his support. The process of organising, fundraising, and opening the hospital is presented in chronological order.

The novelty of the study lies in highlighting Sumtsov’s contribution to healthcare development in Kharkiv and in introducing new archival materials, including Girshman’s letter and previously little-known articles by Sumtsov.

The article concludes Sumtsov’s work in establishing the hospital, reflects his dedication to public service combining academic activity with practical efforts to improve the city’s social and cultural life.