John Baptist Albertrandi (in Poland known as Jan Chrzciciel, 7 December 1731 – 10 August 1808) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, bishop and historian of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

extraction, born in

Warsaw 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 officia ...

. :pl:Jan Chrzciciel Albertrandi#cite note-1

Biography

He entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, 14 August 1748, and left the Society shortly before the suppression, probably in 1769, for his name is not found in the catalog of 1770. After teaching literature for twelve years in the various Jesuit colleges in Poland, he was entrusted with the care of the great

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

founded by the Zaluski brothers

Andrzej Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew. Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej * Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer * Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and ma ...

and Józef, prelates and litterateurs, who had revived literature in Poland. This library which they bequeathed to the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth was seized by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and later formed the nucleus of the

Russian Imperial Library The National Library of Russia (NLR, russian: Российская национальная библиотека}), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked amo ...

. Subsequently Albertrandi accepted the charge of preceptor to the nephew of the Primate, Archbishop Lubieński. With his pupil,

Feliks Łubieński Feliks Walezjusz Władysław Łubieński (born 22 November 1758 Minoga near Olkusz, died 2 October 1848 Guzow (Zyrardow County), Guzów) was a Polish politician, jurist, Minister of Justice in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, starosta of Nakieł, a memb ...

, who afterwards became Minister of Justice in Poland, he travelled through the various countries of Europe, chiefly Italy, to gather material for a great history of Poland. With his own hand he copied manuscripts referring to Poland and Lithuania wherever he found them and in three years amassed a collection of one hundred and ten folio volumes. Where he was not allowed to copy he read and, on returning home in the evening, wrote out what his prodigious memory retained.

Carlos Sommervogel Carlos Sommervogel (8 January 1834 – 4 March 1902) was a French Jesuit scholar. He was author of the monumental ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', which served as one of the major references for the editors of the Catholic Encyclope ...

says that the net result was two hundred folio volumes. Due to his contributions he is sometimes referred to as the "''Polish Polyhistor''". His style is rapid, orderly, and methodical. He knew

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, and most of the

European languages Most languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European language. Within Indo-European, the three largest phyla are Rom ...

. His published works are: Two volumes of a translation of Philippe Macquer's ''Annales Romaines''; and abridged "Annals of Poland"; a great number of articles in the "Moniteur", a journal of Warsaw. He also collaborated with Father Naruszewicz, S.J., in a periodical called "Agreeable and Useful Recreations", and produced a work on

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

, besides many discourses for the Academy of Warsaw, which he founded.

Last years

After the dissolution of the Society of Jesus, he became Royal Librarian and appointed Bishop to the

Titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of Zenopolis, and was decorated with the

order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

. In his work in the Royal library, he not only published a catalogue in ten volumes octavo, but left critical remarks in each of the books. He also had ready for publication manuscripts on the history of the three last centuries of Poland, explained by medals, Polish annals up to the reign of

Władysław IV Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: Famous people Mononym * W ...

, and a "History of Stephen Bathory".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albertrandi, John Baptist 1731 births 1808 deaths Clergy from Warsaw 18th-century Polish Jesuits Polish librarians Polish people of Italian descent

Biography

Last years

See also

References