Jan Stefan Ligenza Kurdwanowski (also Jan Szczepan Kurdwanowski; 1680–1780) was a Polish physicist, member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and military officer. A contributor to '' Encyclopédie'', he served as a courtier to king Stanisław Leszczyński and his wife.

Biography

Kurdwanowski was born 26 December 1680 in his family's manor in Radzanów, to a Polish gentry family. His father held the title of '' łowczy'' at the Polish court. Kurdwanowski himself was also attached to the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

Stanislas Leszczyński Stanislav and variants may refer to: People * Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, C ...

, and held the title of gentleman of the bedchamber. He was also an elected member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences since 28 June 1753. While not a member of the

Société des gens de lettres Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

, Kurdwanowski contributed an article on Piles (heaps of objects) to the '' Encyclopédie''. His article explained a simple method of counting round, piled objects such as cannonballs. His article was then further expanded by

Louis de Jaucourt Chevalier Louis de Jaucourt (; 16 September 1704 – 3 February 1779) was a French scholar and the most prolific contributor to the ''Encyclopédie''. He wrote about 18,000 articles on subjects including physiology, chemistry, botany, patholog ...

and Guillaume Le Blond. He was one of two Polish contributors to that encyclopaedia, the other being prince

Michał Kazimierz Ogiński Michał Kazimierz Ogiński ( – ) was a Polish nobleman, politician, musician, composer and military officer. Biography He began his political career at the age of 18, when he became the Field Writer of Lithuania, a mid-level position in the a ...

who wrote the article on

Lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

. When king Stanislas assumed the throne of Lorraine and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, Kurdwanowski followed him to France and remained his courtier there and later of his wife, queen Catherine Opalińska. His wife was Zofia Salomea née Miłkowska. Later in his life he joined the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army (french: Armée Royale Française) was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon Dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude ...

in the rank of captain and commander of a battalion of infantry. With time he rose through the ranks and was eventually promoted to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He died 21 June 1780 in

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German, obsolete: ''Lünstadt'' ) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Vezouze. History Lun ...

, aged 99.

References

External links

Jan Stefan Ligenza Kurdwanowski
on Wikisource
List of Contributors to the Encyclopedie

Notices sur les auteurs des dix-sept volumes de « discours » de l'Encyclopédie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurdwanowski, Jan Stefan Ligenza 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian physicists Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772) Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences 1680 births 1780 deaths Polish emigrants to France Polish nobility