Aleksander Birkenmajer
Encyclopedia
Aleksander Ludwik Birkenmajer (8 July 1890 – 30 September 1967) was a Polish historian of exact sciences and philosophy
, bibliologist, professor of the Jagiellonian University
in Kraków
and of the Warsaw University.
in Chyrow. In 1908-1912 he studied classical philology
, physics
, mathematics
and history
at the Jagiellonian University
in Kraków
. In 1914 defended there his Ph.D. thesis based on the monograph about Henri Bate de Malines as an astronomer and philosopher of the 13th c., and annotated to him,,Critics of the King Alphons tabels”. The dissertation was prepared under the supervision of Władysław Natanson. During the studies he also worked in the Jagiellonian Astronomical Observatory. Since 1919 he cooperated with the Jagiellonian Library
, where in 1924 he became a curator of the Department of Manuscripts and Old Prints. After presenting and defending of the next monograph on the Renaissance of mathematical and natural sciences in the Middle Ages he became a professor and the head of the History of Exact Sciences Department of the University in Kraków. In 1938 he became a full extraordinary professor. But earlier in 1931 he resigned of the post in the History of Exact Sciences Department to protest against the lack of activity of the Polish Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Instruction and the Jagiellonian University authorities, because of their absence of endeavors to develop Polish science.
In November 1939 he was arrested and imprisoned in the KZ Sachsenhausen. Released in the Autumn of 1940 he got back to the Library as its director, and struggled to save and secure the collections during the war. Since 1944 he was simultaneously the director of University of Poznan Library, till 1947. In 1951 he became an ordinary professor of the Warsaw University, and the head of the Bibiology Chair. He was one of the organizers of the future Institute for the History of Science, Polish Academy of Sciences
. In 1954-1966 he conducted its Section of the History of Mathematical, Physico-Chemical and Geological-Geographical Sciences in the Department of the History of Science and Technology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
, as well
as was the president of its Academic Counsel.
(1953). He studied also a scientific output of Witelo
, revealed the authorship of the opus Philosophia Pauperum of Saint Albert the Great, he studies Aristotle
. He became quickly a renown international expert in the field of research of Copernicus and Aristotle' heritage. He was member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Letters in Kraków (1936), International Academy of the History of Science (1935), and its vice-president in 1959-1965, and also a member of the Royal Historical Society
in London, and a member of the Association of Czech Librarians in Prague
.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, bibliologist, professor of the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków 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...
and of the Warsaw University.
Biography
He was the son of astronomer and historian of science Ludwik Antoni Birkenmajer. Aleksander was educated in Chernikhov and in the Jesuit high schoolZakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie
Zakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie was a Jesuit academic institution, with the status of high school, founded and run by the Jesuits in Khyriv, near Przemyśl, southeast Poland between 1883 - 1939...
in Chyrow. In 1908-1912 he studied classical philology
Classical philology
Classical philology is the study of ancient Greek and classical Latin. Classical philology has been defined as "the careful study of the literary and philosophical texts of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds." Greek and Latin literature and civilization have traditionally been considered...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków 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...
. In 1914 defended there his Ph.D. thesis based on the monograph about Henri Bate de Malines as an astronomer and philosopher of the 13th c., and annotated to him,,Critics of the King Alphons tabels”. The dissertation was prepared under the supervision of Władysław Natanson. During the studies he also worked in the Jagiellonian Astronomical Observatory. Since 1919 he cooperated with the Jagiellonian Library
Jagiellonian Library
Jagiellonian Library is the library of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and with almost 6.7 million volumes, one of the biggest libraries in Poland, serving as a public library, university library and part of the Polish national library system...
, where in 1924 he became a curator of the Department of Manuscripts and Old Prints. After presenting and defending of the next monograph on the Renaissance of mathematical and natural sciences in the Middle Ages he became a professor and the head of the History of Exact Sciences Department of the University in Kraków. In 1938 he became a full extraordinary professor. But earlier in 1931 he resigned of the post in the History of Exact Sciences Department to protest against the lack of activity of the Polish Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Instruction and the Jagiellonian University authorities, because of their absence of endeavors to develop Polish science.
In November 1939 he was arrested and imprisoned in the KZ Sachsenhausen. Released in the Autumn of 1940 he got back to the Library as its director, and struggled to save and secure the collections during the war. Since 1944 he was simultaneously the director of University of Poznan Library, till 1947. In 1951 he became an ordinary professor of the Warsaw University, and the head of the Bibiology Chair. He was one of the organizers of the future Institute for the History of Science, Polish Academy of Sciences
Institute for the History of Science, Polish Academy of Sciences
The Institute for the History of Science was established in 1954 as an institution of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poland.- Overview :The Institute is located in the Staszic Palace in the center of Warsaw near the Copernicus monument. In the rank of founders were professors: Bogdan Suchodolski...
. In 1954-1966 he conducted its Section of the History of Mathematical, Physico-Chemical and Geological-Geographical Sciences in the Department of the History of Science and Technology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
, as well
as was the president of its Academic Counsel.
Scientific output
Birkenmajer prepared the first edition of the De revolutionibus of Nicolaus CopernicusNicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
(1953). He studied also a scientific output of Witelo
Witelo
Witelo was a friar, theologian and scientist: a physicist, natural philosopher, mathematician. He is an important figure in the history of philosophy in Poland...
, revealed the authorship of the opus Philosophia Pauperum of Saint Albert the Great, he studies Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
. He became quickly a renown international expert in the field of research of Copernicus and Aristotle' heritage. He was member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Letters in Kraków (1936), International Academy of the History of Science (1935), and its vice-president in 1959-1965, and also a member of the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
in London, and a member of the Association of Czech Librarians in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
Main books and papers
- La bibliothèque de Richard de Fournival et son sort ultérieur (1920)
- Études sur Witelo (1920)
- Kleinere Thomasfragen (1921)
- Henri Bate de Malines astronome et philosophe du 13e siècle (1923)
- Zur Bibliographie Alberts des Grossen (1924)
- Die Wiegendrucke der physichen Werke Johannes Versors (1925)
- Le rôle joué par les médecins et les naturalistes dans la réception d'Aristote aux XII-e et XIII-e siècles (1930)
- Zur Lebensgeschichte und wissenschaftlichen Tätigkeit von Giovanni Fontana (1395?-1455?) (1932)
- Découverte de fragments manuscrits de David de Dinant (1933)
- Formula (1933)
- Le premier système heliocentrique imaginé par Nicolas Copernic (1933)
- Avicennas Vorrede zum "Liber sufficientiae" und Roger Bacon (1934)
- Diophante et Euclide (1935)
- Eine wiedergefundene Übersetzung Gerhards von Cremona (1935)
- Pierre de Limoges commentateur de Richard de Fournival (1949)
- Mikolaj Kopernik (1954)
- Rober Grosseteste and Richard Fournival (1948)
- L'Université de Cracovie centre international d'enseignement astronomique à la fin du moyen-âge (1957)
- Copernic comme philosophe (1965)
- Les éléments traditionneles et nouveaux dans la cosmologie de Nicolas Copernic (1965)
- Alexius Sylvius Polonus (1593-ca 1653): a little-know maker of astronomical instruments (1968)
Sources
- Andrzej Śródka, Uczeni polscy XIX-XX stulecia (Polish Scientists 19th-20th c.), Vol. I, Warszawa 1994, p. 153-155.
- A.L. Birkenmajer, Ètudes d'histoire des sciences et de la philosophie du moyen âge, Wroclaw 1970, p. V-CIV.