Kazimiera Bujwidowa, née Klimontowicz, (16 October 1867 – 8 October 1932) was a Polish

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Life

Bujwidowa was born on 16 October 1867 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 ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

, the

illegitimate child Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

of Ludwika and Kazimierz Klimontowicz. Her father acknowledged her and supported her financially, but she was raised by her mother and then by her aunt, Karolina Petronella Klimontowicz, after her mother's death. She attended a private boarding school and qualified as a private tutor after graduation. Women were not allowed to attend the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

at that time so Bujwidowa enrolled in a dressmaking course and attended courses at the underground Flying University in the late 1880s. She married the

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

and social worker

Odo Bujwid Odo Feliks Kazimierz Bujwid (30 November 1857 in Vilnius – 26 December 1942 in Kraków) (sometimes referred to as Odon Bujwid) was a Polish bacteriologist, recognized as the founder of bacteriology in Poland Poland, officially the Rep ...

in 1886 and became her husband's assistant and laboratory technician. They had four daughters and two sons together. When Bujwid was appointed as a professor at Jagellonian University in 1893, they moved to Kraków in

Austrian Poland 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 ...

and she became an administrator at the Institute for the Production of Sera and Vaccines, headed by her husband. During World War I, she and her husband operated a hospital for Polish soldiers in Austro-Hungarian service. In 1918 Bujwidowa became manager of the institute, retaining her position until her death on 8 October 1932 in Kraków.

Work

Bujwidowa was initially involved in campaigns to improve education and literacy in both Warsaw and Kraków; she was a member of the board of directors of the Society of Elementary Schools ( pl, Towarzystwo Szkół Ludowych) from 1899 to 1901, having been involved since her arrival in Kraków. She also organized the Kraków Reading Room for Women ( pl, Czytelnia dla kobiet) and became its chairwoman. "Bujwidowa considered the roles of mothers and schools crucially important in the creation of a better society. Women, therefore, were to be professionally trained in pedagogy, psychology and hygiene." Bujwidowa is credited with starting the first junior school for girls and for campaigning to see women entering

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 ...

as they did in 1897.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bujidowa, Kazimiera 1867 births 1932 deaths Polish feminists Polish women's rights activists People from Warsaw Flying University alumni