August Wiktor Witkowski (12 October 1854 – 21 January 1913), was a Polish
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
, professor and rector of
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
.
Biography
August Witkowski was born in
Brody
Brody ( uk, Броди; russian: Броды, Brodï; pl, Brody; german: Brody; yi, בראָד, Brod) is a city in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately ...
, the city, which then belonged to
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...
, part of the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
.
The secondary education he acquired in Brody in 1872, and then became a student of The Engineering Faculty of
Technical University
An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...
in
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
. Engineer diploma he acquired in 1877, and at the same time he gained a position of professor's assistant in Department of Geodetics Engineering. Shortly he entered
Lviv University
The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...
, where he studied the mathematics and physics. Owing to very good results of his education, he acquired a scholarship in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. He continued there studies under
Gustav Kirchhoff
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (; 12 March 1824 – 17 October 1887) was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects.
He coine ...
direction (two years period). Next he moved to Great Britain for one-year studies under
William Thomson-Lord Kelvin direction.
After his return (1881) to
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
he was shortly qualified as an assistant professor (1882) and at the age of 33 he acquired a degree of associate professor (1887). Next year he was invited by the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
and moved to
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. He was appointed professor and chairman of Department of Physics of the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
. In 1889 he became associate member and in 1893 a fellow of
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. In 1892 the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
and in 1912
Technical University
An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...
granted him a
"doctor honoris causa" degree. The foundation of a new building of Physics Department in Jagiellonian University (finished in 1912) – was mainly Witkowski contribution. That building was the
Collegium Witkowskiego
The Collegium Witkowski (Witkowski College), in Kraków, Poland, is a Jagiellonian University building erected in 1908–11. It stands at ''ulica Gołębia'' (Dove Street) 13 and was named for physicist and Jagiellonian University rector August Wi ...
named after him. Shortly after his death, he was proclaimed its patron (later – in 2017 – the history department). In 1920 and 1921 he was also made a patron of two high schools in Poland: August Witkowski V High School in
Krakow and August Witkowski Geodetic school in
Jarosław
Jarosław (; uk, Ярослав, Yaroslav, ; yi, יאַרעסלאָוו, Yareslov; german: Jaroslau) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 38,970 inhabitants, as of 30 June 2014. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), previ ...
.
In 1910 he became a president of the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
(1910–1911). He died in 1913 and was buried at the
Rakowicki Cemetery
Rakowicki Cemetery (English: ; pl, Cmentarz Rakowicki) is a historic necropolis and a cultural heritage monument located on 26 Rakowicka Street in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It lies within the Administrative District No. 1 ''Stare Miasto'' ...
(in his
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
tomb, section Ł, 24 January).
Works
He worked mostly as an experimental physicist. His research interests concentrated mostly in the
physical properties
A physical property is any property that is measurable, whose value describes a state of a physical system. The changes in the physical properties of a system can be used to describe its changes between momentary states. Physical properties are o ...
and laws concerning gases especially in low temperatures. In this way, he contributed also in
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
by his research of
expansion
Expansion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine
* ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004
* ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970
* ''Expansio ...
and
compressibility
In thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, the compressibility (also known as the coefficient of compressibility or, if the temperature is held constant, the isothermal compressibility) is a measure of the instantaneous relative volume change of a fl ...
of atmospheric air and by his investigation of
thermodynamic
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of ther ...
properties of air He was interested as well in electric phenomena in atmosphere. He ran investigation of atmosphere electricity in mountain environment.
His research activities were also connected with new achievements of his Polish colleagues
Zygmunt Wróblewski Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. People so named include:
Given name Medieval period
* Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), Zygmunt I Stary in Polish, King of Poland and Gr ...
and
Karol Olszewski
Karol Stanisław Olszewski (29 January 1846 – 24 March 1915) was a Polish chemist, mathematician and physicist.
Biography
Olszewski was a graduate of Kazimierz Brodziński High School in Tarnów (I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Kazimierza ...
who condensed and liquefied
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
,
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
,
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
and other gases in a record low temperature of −225 °C (48 K). He was interested in
optic
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
al properties of liquified gases He investigated as well
acoustic properties of
compressed air
Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, and o ...
–
speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. At , the speed of sound in air is about , or one kilometre in or one mile in . It depends strongly on temperature as w ...
in air etc.
In addition to his main contribution to
experimental physics
Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and ...
, he also ran in later years of his scientific activity some interesting theoretical enquiries concerning e.g. the physical fundamentals of
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
, the
principle of relativity
In physics, the principle of relativity is the requirement that the equations describing the laws of physics have the same form in all admissible frames of reference.
For example, in the framework of special relativity the Maxwell equations have ...
and the
electromagnetic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
fundamentals of light.
The main Witkowski achievements as academic teacher were a three volumes of handbook of physics, which were the basis of academic education of several generations of Polish physicists. He published also mathematical and physical tables for students.
Selected works
* (in Polish) Wiadomości początkowe z gieografii fizycznéj i meteorologii (Initial Information on Physical Geography and Meteorology),
Warszawa
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
, 1884;
* (in French) Thermomètre électrique pour les basses températures (The Electric Thermometer for Low Temperatures),
Cracovie, 1891;
* (in French) Sur la dilatation et la compressibilité de l'air atmosphérique (On The Expansion and Compressibility of Atmospheric Air),
Cracovie 891 ed.
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
;
* (in Polish) O mierzeniu niskich temperatur (On The Measurement of Low Temperatures),
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, 1891, ed. by
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
;
* (in Polish) O rozszerzalności i ściśliwości powietrza (On The Expansibility and Compressibility of Air),
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, 1891, ed. by
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
;
* (in French) Propriétes optiques de l'oxygéne liquide (On Optical Properties of Liquid Oxygen) by Karol Olszewski and August Wiktor Witkowski,
Cracovie, 1892;
* (in Polish) Zasady fizyki (The Principles of Physics) – vol.1–3,
Warszawa
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
, 1892–1912, ed. by Księgarnia E. Wende i S-ka;
* (in Polish) O własnościach optycznych ciekłego tlenu (On The Optical Properties of Liquid Oxygen) – by
Karol Olszewski
Karol Stanisław Olszewski (29 January 1846 – 24 March 1915) was a Polish chemist, mathematician and physicist.
Biography
Olszewski was a graduate of Kazimierz Brodziński High School in Tarnów (I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Kazimierza ...
, and August Wiktor Witkowski, Kraków 1893, ed. by
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
;
* (in French) Sur la dispersion de la lumière dans l'oxygène liquide (On The Dispersion of Light in Liquid Oxygen) by Karol Olszewski and August Wiktor Witkowski,
Cracovie, 1894, ed.
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
.
* (in Polish) O własnościach termodynamicznych powietrza (On The Thermodynamic Properties of Air), 1896;
* (in Polish) O oziębianiu się powietrza wskutek rozprężenia nieodwracalego (On The Cooling of Air by Irreversible Decompressing),
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
1898, ed. by
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
;
* (in Polish) O prędkości głosu w powietrzu zgęszczonem (On The Speed of Sound in Compressed Air),
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, 1899, ed. by
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
;
* (in Polish) O podstawach fizycznych harmonii (On The Physical Fundamentals of Harmony),
Warszawa
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
1899,
.fn.
* (in Polish) Spostrzeżenia nad elektrycznością atmosferyczną w Zakopanem (The Remarks on The Atmospheric Electricity in
Zakopane
Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been par ...
),
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
1902, ed. by
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
;
* (in Polish) Tablice logarytmowe i goniometryczne czterocyfrowe (The 4-digit
Logarithm
In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means the logarithm of a number to the base is the exponent to which must be raised, to produce . For example, since , the ''logarithm base'' 10 o ...
ic and
Goniometric Tables), Warszawa, 1903, ed. by "Wiadomości Matematyczne" ("Mathematical News");
* (in Polish) Tablice matematyczno-fizyczne (The Mathematical and Physical Tables), Warszawa 1904, ed. by "Wiadomości Matematyczne" ("Mathematical News");
* (in French) Sur la dilatation de l'hydrogène (On The Expansion of Hydrogen),
Cracovie 1905, ed. Imprimerie de l'Universite;
* (in Polish) O rozszerzalności wodoru (On The Expansibility of Hydrogen),
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, 1905, ed. by
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
;
* (in Polish) Elektryczność i magnetyzm (The Electricity and Magnetism), Kraków 1905, ed. "Kółko matematyczne" ("Mathematical Circle"),
* (in Polish) O zasadzie względności (On The Principle of Relativity ),
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, 1909, ed. by
Akademia Umiejętności Academy of Learning ( pl, Akademia Umiejętności; AU) was a primary Polish scientific institution during the annexation of Poland established in 1871. It was founded in Kraków as a continuation of the ''Kraków Scientific Society'' (''Towarzystw ...
;
* (in Polish) Teorya elektromagnetyczna światła (The Electromagnetic Theory of Light),
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
1910, ed. by H. Scherer & K. Zurzycki;
Bibliography
* (in Polish) Witkowski August
entry in:Leksykon
PWN
Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance. ...
,
Warszawa
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
, 1972, p. 1284;
* (in Polish) Maria Pawłowska –
Uniwersytet Jagielloński (Kraków): KRAKOWSKO-LWOWSKIE PORTRETY NAUKOWE PROFESORÓW FIZYKI DOŚWIADCZALNEJ W XIX I PIERWSZEJ POŁOWIE XX WIEKU, I ICH KSIĘGOZBIORY
[See: ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/149055/121-129.pdf?sequence=1 cc.: 8 August 2017/ref>
* (in Polish) Konstanty Zakrzewski: O działalności naukowej ś.p. Augusta Witkowskiego ("On Late August Witkowski scientific activity") – Lecture in Polskie Towarzystwo Przyrodników im. Kopernika in ]Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, 1913, 12 June, ublished in:"Wiadomości Matematyczne" ("Mathematical News"), 1913, vol.5–6 p. 211–224;
* (in Polish) Władysław Natanson
Władysław Natanson (1864–1937) was a Polish physicist.
Life
Natanson was head of Theoretical Physics at Kraków University from 1899 to 1935. , Kilka słów wspomnień o Auguście Witkowskim (A Few Words Concerning August Witkowski Memory). "Wiadomości Matematyczne" ("Mathematical News") 1913, vol. 17, p. 93.
* August Witkowski – WorldCat – see: https://www.worldcat.org/identities/viaf-54929460/.
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witkowski, August
1854 births
1913 deaths
20th-century Polish physicists
Jagiellonian University faculty
Polish Austro-Hungarians
People from Brody
Rectors of the Jagiellonian University
Lviv Polytechnic alumni
19th-century Polish physicists