Mika Alas Fed the People with Fish and Entertained with a Violin

Serbian mathematician, university professor, and academic of the Serbian Royal Academy Mihailo Petrović was born in Belgrade on May 6, 1868. He came from a reputable family, from mother Milica and father Nikodim. However, as his father died young, Mihailo's maternal grandfather, proton priest Lazarević, took care of his grandson and his education. After completing his studies in Belgrade, he graduated in mathematics and physics at the Sorbonne. King Aleksandar I Obrenović, by his decree in the autumn of 1894, appointed him as a professor of mathematics at the Great School, where he lectured to many generations until his retirement.