Sir Temi Zammit (1864 - 1935) a man of great intelligence
Themistocles Zammit was born in Valletta in 1864 to Spiridione and Filomena nee Bologna. He studied at the Lyceum and then later at the University of Malta where in the year 1889 he graduated as a Doctor. In 1890, he was appointed Government Analyst at the Department of Health and seven years later he became an examiner in Physical Science at the University. He married Aloisia Barbaro dei Marchesi Manduca the widow of Sir E. Laferla a year later, and they had two children, Charles and Sofia.
Soon after, in 1903, he was appointed Roman Villa Museum Curator, and in 1905 he became a Chemistry Professor at the University of Malta. In 1911 he was awarded the order of chivalry ‘ the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Nearly a decade later, in 1920 he was elected Rector of the University of Malta. That same year he was awarded the “in relation to the study of Tropical Medicine, and obtained a degree in D.Litt (Honoris Causa) from the University of Oxford. In 1924 he became Director of the Museum up until his death. He was bestowed the title of ‘Sir’ in 1930.
Sadly on Saturday 2nd November 1935, he passed away at the age of 71, in Villa Oxonia in Ta’ Xbiex.
The work of Sir Temi Zammit can be divided into three areas:
First as a Medical Doctor for the health and well-being of the Maltese people, secondly as an Archeologist in promoting the name and history of Malta, and thirdly as a linguist with his literary works promoting our country’s language.
As a Doctor, he worked for preserving the health of our people and country as a whole. Undulant fever known by foreigners as the ‘Fever of Malta’ was not related solely to Maltese goats. Sir Temi’s discovery, along with others, of how undulant fever in the blood of goats is passed on to humans through infected milk, greatly contributed to eliminating undulant fever from our islands, earning him an international reputation. He continued to work and fight to end this disease, until his death.
In 1902, he held a Press Conference in “Mediterranean Fever from a Sanitary Point of View”.
Two years later, in 1904, he was appointed member of the
Mediterranean Fever Commission as a Government representative, and in 1908 became a member of the “Commission to Suppress
Fever”. A year later he was a del
egate of the Maltese Government in the Milan Medical Congress. He published several medical works such as the “Report on the Goats with Mediterranean Fever” in 1908, and a report in Italian for the nineteenth International Medicinal Congress in Milan called “La reazione agglitunante nelle capre dal punto di vista del
igiene”. He also published writings on water storage in Malta.
As an Archaeologist: In 1901, King George V, (once King of Malta), who at the time was still Duke of Cornwall and York, in a visit to the countries of the British Empire, also visited Malta. He visited the Xagħra Palace to see an exhibition on art, works and trade, and old and new artefacts in Malta. Following the exhibition, Governor Grenfell wished to open a Museum featuring a collection of all the Archeological findings in Malta. Zammit was the Secretary of this exhibition, and later became the Curator of the National Archeological Museum.
Moreover, Sir Temi is renowned for his discoveries and explanations of many ancient discoveries through his studies on Temples such as those of Ħal Saflieni, Tarxien, Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, along with other explanations on the Catacombs of St. Paul, on the Roman Villa and many other archeological discoveries. He earned the title of ‘ Zammit of Malta’ due to numerous reports and articles in international magazines.
He published many books in English on these amazing archeological excavations like “Ħal Saflieni Prehistoric Hypogeum”,
“Ħal Tarxien Neolithic Temples”, “The Neolithic Temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra”, “The St Paul’s Catacombs and Rock –Cut tombs
in Malta”. He also published informative and historical works such as “Valletta a historical
sketch” (two editions), “Guide to
the Valletta Museum”, two editions of the History of Malta and many other books.
The last remaining field of Sir Temi Zammit’s great career, is the sterling work he did to honour the Maltese language through his writings to promote the language. By the early twentieth century, Sir Temi was already writing in Maltese, with his teachings on the world, by order of the Governor, where he ‘shone’ with his good explanations. He wrote on difficult subjects but simplified them through dialogues between a school child and his uncle; a doctor. He also wrote books on bread, on how flour is obtained from wheat, on yeast that rises, and all kinds of bread baking.
In 1925 when the Association of Maltese Writers was set up, of which he was Honorary President, he published the first edition of the History of Malta entitled “Il- Gżejjer ta’ Malta u lĠrajja Tagħhom”(The islands of Malta and their story). This book was written using the orthography of the Association and was well received by the public, so much so that in 1934 he was asked to publish a second edition. He published books on Sliema and St Julian’s so that young people could get an insight on these towns and their development.
One could always read one of his articles in the magazine “IlMalti” from its inception in March 1925 with his article on “Water” to the last one on “Bees” which appeared in June of 1935. In the beginning, the articles dealt with Archeology, Natural History, the History of Malta, tools and old Maltese habits written in a simple style, making hard and heavy topics easier to understand.
He also wrote short novels or short stories recalling times gone by. They were very successful and people commissioned him to write more of such books.
He had a great command of the Maltese language as he loved to mix with all kinds of people from towns and villages, and knew how everyone thought and spoke. He always wished to gather all his novels in one, however, he only managed the first book as he died before his second publication. He left us many works and discoveries that pay tribute to our country’s history. He loved the Maltese people, and worked hard for them. Therefore, we should respect his hard work and always keep him in our mind. Sir Temi died but deserves to be remembered for the valuable work he carried out. Besides the above mentioned literary and historical works, there are other important writings such as the following: -
• 1890 - Manifestazioni oculare nel corso dell ‘ influenza
• 1892 - Il- diabete Mellito’
• 1900 - Tubercolosis in the Maltese islands as it is and as it should be
• 1913 - L’Universita‘ di Malta, sue origine e sviluppo
• 1918 - Second Report on Tarxien excavations – The Roman Villa Museum at Rabat
• 1934 - First Aid to help English Residents in these islands to get some knowledge of the Maltese Language