Society of Friends of Science
Encyclopedia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
scientific societies, active in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
from 1800 to 1832.
Name
The Society was also known as Warszawskie Królewskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk (Warsaw Royal Society of Friends of Learning). Sometimes the word "Royal" was omitted.History
Thursday Dinners
The Thursday Dinners were meetings of artists, intellectuals, and statesmen held by the last King of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski in the era of Enlightenment in Poland....
that had been held in the final decades of the 18th century by Poland's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski. From 1824 the Society was headquartered in the Staszic Palace
Staszic Palace
Staszic Palace is an edifice at ulica Nowy Świat 72, Warsaw, Poland. It is the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences.-Origin:The history of the Staszic Palace dates to 1620, when King Zygmunt III Vasa ordered the construction of a small Eastern Orthodox chapel, as a proper place of burial for the...
(after its renovation in 1820–23), purchased for the Society by one of its most prominent members, Stanisław Staszic. In 1828 the Society had 185 members.
The Society flourished in the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
and Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
, but was eventually dissolved by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n authorities in the aftermath of the failed November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
of 1830–31, when many Polish cultural organizations were delegalized as part of the repressions
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
. The Society's traditions were continued by the Warsaw Scientific Society
Warsaw Scientific Society
Warsaw Scientific Society is a Polish scientific society based in Warsaw. It was established in 1907 as a continuation of the Society of Friends of Science to advance the sciences and arts and to publish scientific papers....
(Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie).
Influence
The Society was an important part of the second half of the Enlightenment in PolandEnlightenment in Poland
The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in the Western Europe, as Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta culture together with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth political system were in deep crisis...
, preserving Polish culture and science after the partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
damaged the fledging Polish education system (After the world's first ministry of education, the Komisja Edukacji Narodowej
Komisja Edukacji Narodowej
The Commission of National Education was the central educational authority in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and king Stanisław August Poniatowski on October 14, 1773...
- Polish for Commission of National Education - was abolished, many schools were closed and Germanization and Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
begun). The Society gathered Polish scientists, academics, writers and their sponsors throughout partitioned Poland; many of whom met twice in month in Warsaw for discussions. The creation and activities of the Society had a very significant impact on the development of science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
in Poland. It supported various scientific pursuits, from research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, through creation of museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s and libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, organizing various events to supporting education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
. The society sought to popularize learning and shape intellectual and artistic trends, it also had a very broad membership.
After the Załuski Library had been removed by the Russians to St. Petersburg, the Society's library was the greatest public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
in former Poland. Its collection was partially confiscated by the Russians in 1832, and later parts of it were destroyed by the Nazis during the Second World War. It had its own journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
, the Annals of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning (Roczniki Warszawskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, vols. 1-21, published 1802-30), and the Warsaw Chronicle (Pamiętnik Warszawski), a serious monthly modeled on publications such as the Edinburgh Review
Edinburgh Review
The Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It ceased publication in 1929. The magazine took its Latin motto judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur from Publilius Syrus.In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review,...
.
While some Society members studied the history of Poland
History of Poland
The History of Poland is rooted in the arrival of the Slavs, who gave rise to permanent settlement and historic development on Polish lands. During the Piast dynasty Christianity was adopted in 966 and medieval monarchy established...
(Joachim Lelewel
Joachim Lelewel
Joachim Lelewel was a Polish historian and politician, from a Polonized branch of a Prussian family.His grandparents were Heinrich Löllhöffel von Löwensprung and Constance Jauch , who later polonized her name to Lelewel.-Life:Born in Warsaw, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of...
) or the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
(Samuel Linde
Samuel Linde
Samuel Bogumił Linde was a linguist, librarian, and lexicographer of the Polish language. He was director of the Prussian-founded Warsaw Lyceum during its existence , and an important figure of the Polish Enlightenment.-Life:Samuel Gottlieb Linde was born in Toruń, Royal Prussia, a province of the...
), others implement new inventions and spread ideas of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Staszic was responsible for substantial improvements in mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, Tadeusz Czacki
Tadeusz Czacki
Tadeusz Czacki , was a Polish historian, pedagogue and numismatist. Czacki played an important part in the Enlightenment in Poland.-Biography:...
worked at regulating rivers, and others applied engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
or medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
.
After the Warsaw Society was disbanded in 1832, organizations in other cities began using analogous names, e.g., the Poznań Society of Friends of Learning.
Notables
- Presidents:
- Jan Chrzciciel Albertrandy (1800-1808)
- Stanislaw StaszicStanislaw StaszicStanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic was a Polish priest, philosopher, statesman, geologist, scholar, poet and writer, a leader of the Polish Enlightenment, famous for works related to the "Great" or "Four-Year Sejm" and its Constitution of May 3, 1791.-Life:Staszic was born into a burgher family in the...
(1808-1826) - Julian Ursyn NiemcewiczJulian Ursyn NiemcewiczJulian Ursyn Niemcewicz was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of May 3, 1791.-Life:...
(1826-1832)
- Members:
- Jerzy Samuel Bandtkie
- Feliks Bentkowski
- Tadeusz CzackiTadeusz CzackiTadeusz Czacki , was a Polish historian, pedagogue and numismatist. Czacki played an important part in the Enlightenment in Poland.-Biography:...
- Jan Niepomucen Janowski
- Hugo KollatajHugo KollatajHugo Kołłątaj was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, social and political activist, political thinker, historian and philosopher.-Biography:...
- Onufry KopczyńskiOnufry KopczynskiOnufry Kopczyński was an important educator and grammarian of the Polish language in the period of Enlightenment in Poland.-Life and work:...
- Jan Kossakowski
- Michał Dymitr Krajewski
- Onufry KopczyńskiOnufry KopczynskiOnufry Kopczyński was an important educator and grammarian of the Polish language in the period of Enlightenment in Poland.-Life and work:...
- Samuel LindeSamuel LindeSamuel Bogumił Linde was a linguist, librarian, and lexicographer of the Polish language. He was director of the Prussian-founded Warsaw Lyceum during its existence , and an important figure of the Polish Enlightenment.-Life:Samuel Gottlieb Linde was born in Toruń, Royal Prussia, a province of the...
- Joachim LelewelJoachim LelewelJoachim Lelewel was a Polish historian and politician, from a Polonized branch of a Prussian family.His grandparents were Heinrich Löllhöffel von Löwensprung and Constance Jauch , who later polonized her name to Lelewel.-Life:Born in Warsaw, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of...
- Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius
- Józef Maksymilian OssolińskiJózef Maksymilian OssolinskiCount Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński was a Polish noble , politician, writer, researcher of literature, and founder of the Ossoliński Institute....
- Stanisław Kostka Potocki
- Johann Christian SchuchJohann Christian SchuchJohann Christian Schuch was a Dresden-born garden designer and architect, active in Poland.-Life:Schuch learned gardening from his father, a House of Wettin court gardener...
- Fryderyk SkarbekFryderyk SkarbekFlorian Frederick Skarbek was a member of the Polish nobility, an economist, novelist, historian, social activist, administrator and politician....
- Jan ŚniadeckiJan SniadeckiJan Śniadecki was a Polish mathematician, philosopher and astronomer at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.-Life:Born in Żnin, Śniadecki studied at Kraków University and in Paris...
- Jędrzej ŚniadeckiJedrzej SniadeckiJędrzej Śniadecki was a Polish writer, physician, chemist and biologist. His achievements include the creation of modern Polish terminology in the field of chemistry.-Life and work:...
- Abraham Stern
- Ignacy ZaborowskiIgnacy ZaborowskiIgnacy Zaborowski was a Polish mathematician and geodesist; Piarist. He was a professor and rector of the Collegium Nobilium.-Biography:...
See also
- Poznań Society of Friends of Learning
- Academy of SciencesAcademy of SciencesAn Academy of Sciences is a national academy or another learned society dedicated to sciences.In non-English speaking countries, the range of academic fields of the members of a national Academy of Science often includes fields which would not normally be classed as "science" in English...
- Polish Academy of SciencesPolish Academy of SciencesThe Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
(headquartered in WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
) - Polish Academy of LearningPolish Academy of LearningThe Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning , headquartered in Kraków, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences....
(headquartered in KrakówKrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
)