The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

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 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializations in

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

, technical, and the natural sciences. The University of Warsaw consists of 126 buildings and educational complexes with over 18 faculties:

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

, chemistry,

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

and political science, philosophy and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

and regional studies,

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, applied

linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

and

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, applied

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

, management and mathematics,

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

and

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to object ...

. The University of Warsaw is one of the top Polish universities. It was ranked by '' Perspektywy'' magazine as best Polish university in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2016. International rankings such as ARWU and University Web Ranking ranked the university as the best Polish higher level institution in 2012.

History

Beginnings under Alexander I (1816–1918)

In 1795, the partitions of Poland left

with access only to the

Academy of Vilnius Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow a ...

when the oldest and most influential Polish academic center, the Jagiellonian University 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 ...

, became part of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy. In 1815, the newly established semi-autonomous polity of Congress Poland found itself without a university at all, as Vilnius was incorporated into the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In 1816,

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

permitted the Polish authorities to create a university, comprising five departments: Law and Administration, Medicine, Philosophy, Theology, and Art and Humanities. The university soon grew to 800 students and 50 professors. After most of the students and professors took part in the November 1830 Uprising the university was closed down; it was again closed after the failed January Uprising of 1863. As a consequence, all Polish-language schools were prohibited by the Imperial Russian government which controlled Congress Poland. During its short existence, the university educated thousands of students, many of whom became part of the backbone of the Polish intelligentsia. Uni15 DSC1114

In 1915, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Warsaw was seized by German Empire and the occupying German authorities allowed a certain degree of liberalization to gain military support from the Poles. In accordance with the concept of ''

Mitteleuropa (), meaning Middle Europe, is one of the German terms for Central Europe. The term has acquired diverse cultural, political and historical connotations. University of Warsaw, Johnson, Lonnie (1996) ''Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends'p ...

'', the Germans permitted several Polish social and educational societies to be recreated, including the University of Warsaw. The Polish language was reintroduced, but, in order to maintain Polish patriotic movement in control, the number of lecturers was kept low. No limits on the number of students; between 1915 and 1918 the number of alumni rose from a mere 1,000 to over 4,500.

Second Polish Republic (1918–1939)

Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory

After Poland regained its independence in 1918, the University of Warsaw began to grow very quickly. It was reformed; all the important posts (the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, senate, deans and councils) became democratically elected, and the state spent considerable amounts of money to modernize and equip it. Many professors returned from exile and cooperated in the effort. By the late 1920s the level of education in Warsaw had reached that of western Europe. By the beginning of the 1930s the University of Warsaw had become the largest university in Poland, with over 250 lecturers and 10,000 students. However, the financial problems of the newly reborn state did not allow for free education, and students had to pay a tuition fee for their studies (an average monthly salary, for a year). Also, the number of

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

s was very limited, and only approximately 3% of students were able to get one. Despite these economic problems, the University of Warsaw grew rapidly. New departments were opened, and the main campus was expanded. After the death of

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

the Senate of the University of Warsaw changed its name to "Józef Piłsudski University of Warsaw" (''Uniwersytet Warszawski im. Józefa Piłsudskiego''). The ''

Sanacja Sanation ( pl, Sanacja, ) was a Polish political movement that was created in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and came to power in the wake of that coup. In 1928 its political activists would go on ...

'' government proceeded to limit the autonomy of the universities. Professors and students remained divided for the rest of the 1930s as the system of segregated seating for Jewish students, known as

ghetto benches Ghetto benches (known in Polish as ''getto ławkowe'') was a form of official segregation in the seating of university students, introduced in 1935 at the Lwow Polytechnic. Rectors at other higher education institutions in the Second Polish Rep ...

, was implemented customarily, not institutionally; comparable to the era of the

Civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

in the United States.

World War II (1939–1945)

After the Polish Defensive War of 1939 the German authorities of the General Government closed all the institutions of higher education in Poland. The equipment and most of the laboratories were taken to Germany and divided amongst the

German universities This is a list of the universities in Germany, of which there are about seventy. The list also includes German ''Technische Universitäten'' ( universities of technology), which have official and full university status, but usually focus on engin ...

while the main campus of the University of Warsaw was turned into

military barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

. German racial theories assumed that no education of Poles was needed and the whole nation was to be turned into uneducated serfs of the German race. Education in Polish was banned and punished with death. However, many professors organized the so-called "Secret University of Warsaw" (''Tajny Uniwersytet Warszawski''). The lectures were held in small groups in private apartments and the attendants were constantly risking discovery and death. However, the net of underground faculties spread rapidly and by 1944 there were more than 300 lecturers and 3,500 students at various courses. Many students took part in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

as soldiers of the Armia Krajowa and

Szare Szeregi "Gray Ranks" ( pl, Szare Szeregi) was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association (') during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation i ...

. The German-held campus of the university was turned into a fortified area with bunkers and

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

nests. It was located close to the buildings occupied by the German garrison of Warsaw. Heavy fights for the campus started on the first day of the Uprising, but the partisans were not able to break through the gates. Several assaults were bloodily repelled and the campus remained in German hands until the end of the fights. During the uprising and the occupation 63 professors were killed, either during fights or as an effect of German policy of extermination of Polish intelligentsia. The university lost 60% of its buildings during the fighting in 1944. A large part of the collection of priceless works of art and books donated to the university was either destroyed or transported to Germany, never to return.

Post-war and the People's Republic (1945–1989)

After World War II it was not clear whether the university would be restored or whether Warsaw itself would be rebuilt. However, many professors who had survived the war returned, and began organizing the university from scratch. In December 1945, lectures resumed for almost 4,000 students in the ruins of the campus, and the buildings were gradually rebuilt. Until the late 1940s the university remained relatively independent. However, soon the communist authorities started to impose political controls, and the period of Stalinism started. Many professors were arrested by the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa (Secret Police), the books were

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

and ideological criteria in employment of new lecturers and admission of students were introduced. On the other hand, education in Poland became free of charge and the number of young people to receive the state

s reached 60% of all the students. After

Władysław Gomułka Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. G ...

's rise to power in 1956, a brief period of liberalization ensued, though communist ideology still played a major role in most faculties (especially in such faculties as history, law, economics, and political science). International cooperation was resumed and the level of education rose. By mid-1960s the government started to suppress freedom of thought, which led to increasing unrest among the students. A political struggle within the communist party prompted

Zenon Kliszko Zenon Kliszko (Łódź, December 8, 1908 – September 4, 1989, Warsaw), was a politician in the Polish People's Republic, considered the man of Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) leader Władysław Gomułka. Kliszko graduated from Warsaw Univ ...

to ban the production of ''

Dziady Dziady ( Belarusian: , Russian: , Ukrainian: , pl, Dziady; lit. "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, ritual ...

'' by

Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish R ...

at the

Teatr Narodowy The National Theatre () in Warsaw, Poland, was founded in 1765, during the Polish Enlightenment, by that country's monarch, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The theatre shares the Grand Theatre complex at the Theatre Square in Warsaw with anothe ...

, leading to

1968 Polish political crisis The Polish 1968 political crisis, also known in Poland as March 1968, Students' March, or March events ( pl, Marzec 1968; studencki Marzec; wydarzenia marcowe), was a series of major student, intellectual and other protests against the ruling Pol ...

coupled with anti-Zionist and anti-democratic campaign and the outbreak of student demonstrations in Warsaw, which were brutally crushed – not by police, but by the

ORMO ''ORMO'' ( pl, Ochotnicza Rezerwa Milicji Obywatelskiej), or the Volunteer Reserve of the Citizens' Militia, was a paramilitary organization and voluntary support brigade of the communist police force, the Citizen's Militia (MO). ORMO was founde ...

''reserve militia'' squads of plain-clothed workers. As a result, a large number of students and professors were expelled from the university. Nonetheless, the university remained the centre of free thought and education. What professors could not say during lectures, they expressed during informal meetings with their students. Many of them became leaders and prominent members of the Solidarity movement and other societies of the democratic opposition which led to the

collapse of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

. The scientists working at the University of Warsaw were also among the most prominent printers of books forbidden by

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

Third Polish Republic (1989–present)

In 1999, a new University of Warsaw Library building was opened in Powiśle. After Poland joined the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

in 2004, the university obtained additional funds from the

European Structural and Investment Funds The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds, ESIFs) are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultural ...

for the construction of additional buildings including the Biological and Chemical Research Centre, Centre of New Technologies, and a new building for the Faculty of Physics.

Campus

University of Warsaw owns a total of 126 buildings. Further construction and a vigorous renovation program are underway at the main campus. The university is spread out over the city, though most of the buildings are concentrated in two areas.

Main campus

Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie 2018

The main campus of the University of Warsaw is in the city center, adjacent to the

Krakowskie Przedmieście Krakowskie Przedmieście (, literally: ''Cracow Fore-town''; french: link=no, Faubourg de Cracovie), often abbreviated to Krakowskie, is one of the best known and most prestigious streets of Poland's capital Warsaw, surrounded by historic palaces ...

street. It comprises several historic palaces, most of which had been nationalized in the 19th century. The chief buildings include: *

Kazimierzowski Palace The Kazimierz Palace ( pl, Pałac Kazimierzowski) is a rebuilt palace in Warsaw, Poland. It is adjacent to the Royal Route, at '' Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28''. Originally built in 1637-41, it was first rebuilt in 1660 for King John II Casim ...

(''Pałac Kazimierzowski'') – the seat of the

and the Senate; * Uruski Palace (''Pałac Uruskich'') – left side of main gate entrance, houses the Department of Geography and Regional Studies * the Old Library (''Stary BUW'') – since recent refurbishment, a secondary lecture building; * the Main School (''Szkoła Główna'') – former seat of the Main School until the January 1863 Uprising, later the faculty of biology; now, since its refurbishment, the seat of the Institute of archaeology; * '' Auditorium Maximum'' – the main lecture hall, with seats for several hundred students. The Warsaw University Library building is a short walk downhill from the main campus, in the Powiśle neighborhood.

Natural sciences campus

The second important campus is located near Banacha and Pasteura streets. It is home to the departments of chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, computer science, and geology, and contains several other university buildings such as the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling, the Environmental Heavy Ion Laboratory that houses a cyclotron and a facility for the production of

PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

radiopharmaceuticals, and a sports facility. Several new buildings have been constructed within this campus in recent years, and the Department of Physics moved here from its previous location at Hoża Street. Together with buildings of other institutions, such as the Institute of Experimental Biology, Radium Institute and the

Medical University of Warsaw The Medical University of Warsaw ( Polish name: '' Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny'', Latin name: ''Universitas Medica Varsoviensis'') is one of the oldest and the largest medical school in Poland. The first academic department of medicine was crea ...

, the campus is part of an almost contiguous area of scientific and educational facilities covering approximately .

Faculties

University of Warsaw Main Campus, Warsaw, Poland, 2019, 03

# Faculty of Applied Linguistics # Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and Resocialization # Faculty of Archaeology # Faculty of “Artes Liberales” # Faculty of Biology # Faculty of Chemistry # Faculty of Culture and Arts # Faculty of Economic Sciences # Faculty of Education # Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies # Faculty of Geology # Faculty of History # Faculty of Journalism, Information and Book Studies # Faculty of Law and Administration # Faculty of Management # Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics # Faculty of Modern Languages #

Faculty of Oriental Studies The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (formerly the Faculty of Oriental Studies), is a subdivision of the University of Oxford. The faculty is engaged in a broad range of research and teaching on modern and historical Asian and Middl ...

# Faculty of Sociology #

Faculty of Philosophy A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

Faculty of Physics Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...

# Faculty of Polish Studies # Faculty of Political Science and International Studies # Faculty of Psychology

Other institutes

* American Studies Center * British Studies Centre * Centre de Civilisation Française et d'Études Francophones auprès de l'Université de Varsovie * Centre for Archaeological Research at

Novae A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

* Centre for Environmental Study * Centre for Europe * Centre for European Regional and Local Studies (EUROREG) * Centre for Foreign Language Teaching * Centre for Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in the Humanities * Centre for

Latin-American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-ethn ...

Studies (CESLA) * Centre for Open Multimedia Education * Centre for the Study of Classical Tradition in Poland and East-Central Europe * Centre of Studies in Territorial Self-Government and Local Development * Chaire UNESCO du Developpement Durable de l`Universite de Vaersovie * Comité Polonais de l'Alliance Français * Digital Economy Lab (DELab) – joint institute with

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

* Erasmus of Rotterdam Chair * Heavy Ion Laboratory * Individual Inter-faculty Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences * Institute of Americas and Europe * Institute of International Relations – host of GMAPIR * The Robert B.Zajonc Institute for Social Studies * Inter-faculty Study Programme in Environmental Protection * Interdisciplinary Centre for Behavioural Genetics * Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling * Physical Education and Sports Centre *

Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw (PCMA UW; pl, Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej UW im. Kazimierza Michałowskiego) operates as an independent research institute of the University of Warsaw under the p ...

* University Centre for Technology Transfer * University College of English Language Teacher Education * University of Warsaw for Foreign Language Teacher Training and European Education

Institutions

* Academic Radio Kampus 97,1 FM * Institute of Information Science and Book Studies * The Institute of Polish Language and Culture 'Polonicum' * University of Warsaw Libraries

The university in popular culture

* In Ian Fleming's 1961 novel '' Thunderball'', the ninth book in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

series, one of the main characters,

Ernst Stavro Blofeld Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a character (arts), fictional character and villain from the James Bond series of novels and films, created by Ian Fleming. A criminal mastermind with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the Secret In ...

who is the head of the global criminal organisation

SPECTRE Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

, is said to be a graduate of the University of Warsaw. * In 2016, the

Polish Post Poczta Polska ( lit. ''Polish Post'') is the state postal administration of Poland, initially founded in 1558. It is the largest mail-handling company in the country, which additionally provides courier, banking, insurance and logistics servi ...

issued commemorative stamps on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the university depicting the Column Hall of the building of the Faculty of History.

Notable alumni

Ryszard Kapuscinski, author-writer, at PEN Congress

Jerzy Andrzejewski Jerzy Andrzejewski (; 19 August 1909 – 19 April 1983) was a prolific Polish writer. His works confront controversial moral issues such as betrayal, the Jews and Auschwitz in the wartime. His novels, ''Ashes and Diamonds'' (about the immediate ...

(1909–1983), author * Szymon Askenazy (1865-1935), Polish jurist, historian, educator, first Polish representative to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

* Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński (1921–1944), poet,

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) est ...

soldier killed in the

* Menachem Begin (1913–1992), 6th

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

(1977–1983),

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

winner (1978) *

Marek Bieńczyk Marek Bieńczyk (Polish pronunciation: ; born 6 July 1956) is a Polish writer, historian of literature, translator, essayist and oenologist. In 2012, he won the Nike Award, Poland's top literary prize, for his collection of essays ''Book of Face ...

(born 1956), writer, historian of literature, essayist and translator,

Nike Award The Nike Literary Award ( pl, Nagroda Literacka „Nike") is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award fo ...

winner (2012) *

Adam Bodnar Adam Piotr Bodnar (born 6 January 1977) is a Polish lawyer, educator, and human rights activist. He was the Polish Ombudsman for Citizen Rights from 2015 until July 2021. Life and career In 2000, he graduated in law from the University of Warsaw ...

(born 1977), lawyer, human rights activist, Polish Ombudsman *

Tadeusz Borowski Tadeusz Borowski (; 12 November 1922 – 3 July 1951) was a Polish writer and journalist. His wartime poetry and stories dealing with his experiences as a prisoner at Auschwitz are recognized as classics of Polish literature. Early life Borow ...

(1922–1951), poet, writer *

Kazimierz Brandys Kazimierz Brandys (27 October 1916 – 11 March 2000) was a Polish essayist and writer of film scripts. Biography Brandys was born in Łódź. He was the brother of the writer Marian Brandys and husband of the translator . He graduated in law f ...

(1916–2000), writer * Marian Brandys (1912–1998), writer, journalist * Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), pianist, composer *

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (, born 13 September 1950) is a Polish left-wing politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland for a year from 7 February 1996 to 31 October 1997, after being defeated in the Parliamentary elections by the Solidarity ...

(born 1950), politician,

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

(1996–1997),

Marshal of the Sejm The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th ...

(2005) *

Tomasz Dietl Tomasz is a Polish given name, the equivalent of Thomas in English. Notable people with the given name include: * Tomasz Adamek (born 1976), Polish heavyweight boxer *Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955), Polish socialist politician and Prime Mini ...

(born 1950), physicist *

Samuel Eilenberg Samuel Eilenberg (September 30, 1913 – January 30, 1998) was a Polish-American mathematician who co-founded category theory (with Saunders Mac Lane) and homological algebra. Early life and education He was born in Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland to ...

(1913–1998), mathematician, computer scientist, art collector *

Barbara Engelking Barbara Engelking (born 22 April 1962) is a Polish sociologist specializing in Holocaust studies. The founder and director of the Polish Center for Holocaust Research in Warsaw, she is the author or editor of several works on the Holocaust in P ...

(born 1962), sociologist *

Joseph Epstein Joseph Epstein (October 16, 1911 – April 11, 1944), also known as Colonel Gilles and as Joseph Andrej, was a Polish-born Jewish communist activist and a French Resistance leader during World War II. He was executed by the Germans. Communi ...

(1911–1944), communist leader of French resistance * Lech Gardocki (born 1944) lawyer, judge, former First President of the

Supreme Court of Poland The Supreme Court ( pl, Sąd Najwyższy) is the highest court in the Republic of Poland. It is located in the Krasiński Square, Warsaw. One of the chambers of the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Chamber, was suspended by a judgment of the CJ ...

Marek Gazdzicki Marek Gaździcki (born 9 June 1956) is a Polish high-energy nuclear physicist, and the initiator and spokesperson of the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). He, along with Mark I. Gorenstein, predicted the thres ...

(born 1956), nuclear physicist * Bronisław Geremek (1932–2008), historian, politician * Małgorzata Gersdorf (born 1952), lawyer, first President of the

* Maciej Gliwicz (born 1939), biologist *

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his ...

(1904–1969), writer *

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz (, born 4 November 1952) is a Polish politician and lawyer, Professor of Jurisprudence and politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw between 2006 and 2018. She is the first woman to hold this position. Life ...

(born 1952), politician, President of the

National Bank of Poland The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bra ...

(1992–2001),

Mayor of Warsaw The city mayor of Warsaw, or more literally the ''city president of Warsaw'' (the official title in Polish is ''"prezydent miasta stołecznego Warszawy"'', literal translation ''"president of the capital city of Warsaw"'') is the head of the exe ...

(2006–2018) * Jan T. Gross (born 1947), historian, writer,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

professor *

Zofia Helman Zofia Helman (born 8 March 1937) is a Polish musicologist and an honorary member of the Polish Composers' Union. Life Zofia Helman was born in Radom and studied musicology at the University of Warsaw from 1954-59. In 1967 she defended her doctora ...

(born 1937), musicologist *

Gustaw Herling-Grudziński Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (; May 20, 1919 − July 4, 2000) was a Polish writer, journalist, essayist, World War II underground fighter, and political dissident abroad during the communist system in Poland. He is best known for writing a personal ...

(1919–2000), journalist, writer,

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

survivor *

Leonid Hurwicz Leonid Hurwicz (; August 21, 1917 – June 24, 2008) was a Polish-American economist and mathematician, known for his work in game theory and mechanism design. He originated the concept of incentive compatibility, and showed how desired outcome ...

(1917–2008), economist, mathematician,

Nobel Prize in Economics The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ( sv, Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne), is an economics award administered ...

(2007) *

Maria Janion Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

(1926-2020), literary critic *

Monika Jaruzelska Monika Anna Jaruzelska (born 11 August 1963, Warsaw) is a Polish journalist, stylist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski and his wife Barbara Jaruzelska. Biography Jaruzelska was born in 1963 ...

(born 1963) fashion designer, journalist, daughter of former

Polish President The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party b ...

Jerzy Jedlicki Jerzy Jedlicki (born Jerzy Grossman 14 June 1930, Warsaw – died 31 January 2018, Warsaw) was a Polish historian of ideas, Humanities Professor and an anti-communist activist during the times of the Polish People's Republic. Life and work Born ...

(1930–2018), historian of ideas, anti-communist activist *

Jarosław Kaczyński Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (; born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician who is currently serving as leader of the Law and Justice party (known by its Polish acronym PiS), which he co-founded in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, ...

(born 1949), politician,

(2006–2007) *

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he pre ...

(1949–2010), politician,

(2002–2005),

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

(2005–2010) *

Andrzej Kalwas Andrzej Jan Kalwas (born 23 June 1936 in Włoclawek) is a Polish lawyer, legal adviser, former minister of justice and attorney general in the government of Marek Belka. Biography In 1963 he graduated from law studies at the University of W ...

(born 1936), lawyer, businessman, and former Polish

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Aleksander Kamiński Aleksander Kamiński, assumed name: ''Aleksander Kędzierski''. Also known under Pseudonym, aliases such as ''Dąbrowski'', ''J. Dąbrowski, Fabrykant, Faktor, Juliusz Górecki, Hubert, Kamyk, Kaźmierczak, Bambaju'' (born 28 January 1903 in Wars ...

(1903–1978), writer, leader of

Polish Scouting and Guiding Association , type = organization , headquarters = ZHP Headquarters Warsaw , location = Warszawa, Konopnickiej 6 , country = Poland , f-date = 1 November 1918 , founder = Andrzej Małkowski, Olga Małkowska , members = 138,112 , chiefscouttitle = N ...

Ryszard Kapuściński Ryszard Kapuściński (; 4 March 1932 – 23 January 2007) was a Polish journalist, photographer, poet and author. He received many awards and was considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kapuściński's personal journals in bo ...

(1932–2007), writer and journalist *

Mieczysław Karłowicz Mieczysław Karłowicz (, 11 December 18768 February 1909) was a Polish composer and conductor. Life Mieczysław Karłowicz was born in Vishneva, in the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in Belarus) into a noble family belonging to ...

(1876–1909), composer *

Jan Karski Jan Karski (24 June 1914 – 13 July 2000) was a Polish soldier, resistance-fighter, and diplomat during World War II. He is known for having acted as a courier in 1940–1943 to the Polish government-in-exile and to Poland's Western Allies ab ...

(1914–2000), Polish resistance fighter *

Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska (25 April 1925 – 13 March 2015) was a Polish paleobiologist. In the mid-1960s, she led a series of Polish-Mongolian paleontological expeditions to the Gobi Desert. She was the first woman to serve on the executive commit ...

(1925–2015), paleobiologist *

Leszek Kołakowski Leszek Kołakowski (; ; 23 October 1927 – 17 July 2009) was a Polish philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analyses of Marxist thought, especially his three-volume history, '' Main Currents of Marxism'' (1976 ...

(1927–2009), philosopher, historian of philosophy *

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who served as President of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski served as Minister of Defence from 2000 to 2001. As Marshal of the Sejm, Komorowski exercis ...

(born 1952), politician,

(2007–2010),

(2010–2015) *

Alpha Oumar Konaré Alpha Oumar Konaré (born 2 February 1946) is a Malian politician, who served as President of Mali for two five-year terms from 1992 to 2002 and was Chairperson of the African Union Commission from 2003 to 2008. Scholarly career Alpha Oumar K ...

, (born 1946), 3rd President of Mali (1992–2002) * Wojciech Kopczuk,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

economist *

Janusz Korwin-Mikke Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke (; born 27 October 1942), also known by his initials JKM or simply as Korwin, is a Polish far-right politician, paleolibertarian and author. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2014 until 2018. He was the ...

(born 1942), conservative-liberal politician and journalist *

Marek Kotański Marek Kotański, (March 11, 1942 – August 19, 2002) was a Polish charity worker and campaigner on behalf of disadvantaged people, including the homeless and those with HIV. He died in a car accident in Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki, Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, ...

(1942–2002), psychologist and streetworker *

Jacek Kuroń Jacek Jan Kuroń (; 3 March 1934 – 17 June 2004) was one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. He was widely known as the "godfather of the Polish opposition," not unlike Václav Havel in Czechoslovakia. Ku ...

(1934–2004), historian, author, social worker, and politician *

Jan Józef Lipski Jan Józef Lipski (26 May 1926 in Warsaw – 10 September 1991 in Kraków) was a Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason. As a soldier of the Home Army ( Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Editor of collected w ...

(1926–1991), literature historian, politician * Ewa Łętowska (born 1940), lawyer, first Polish Ombudsman for Citizen Rights *

Jerzy Łojek Jerzy Łojek (3 September 1932 – 7 October 1986) was a Polish historian and opposition activist in People's Republic of Poland. He specialized in European, Polish and Russian history of 17th to 20h centuries. Some of his works were first publi ...

(1932–1986), historian, writer *

Pawel Maciag Paweł Maciąg is a university professor, diplomat, lawyer, and journalist. Specializes in international law, international relations, diplomacy, social sciences, and finance. Since 2016 he was a director and member of the Leadership at the Polish-S ...

(born 1978), lawyer, university professor in New York, diplomat, and journalist *

Olga Malinkiewicz Olga Malinkiewicz (Polish pronunciation: ; born 26 November 1982) is a Polish physicist, inventor of a method of producing solar cells based on perovskites using inkjet printing. She is a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer at Saule Tec ...

(born 1982), physicist *

Tadeusz Mazowiecki Tadeusz Mazowiecki (; 18 April 1927 – 28 October 2013) was a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist Polish prime min ...

(1927–2013), author, social worker, journalist,

(1989–1991) *

Adam Michnik Adam Michnik (; born 17 October 1946) is a Polish historian, essayist, former dissident, public intellectual, and editor-in-chief of the Polish newspaper, ''Gazeta Wyborcza''. Reared in a family of committed communists, Michnik became an opponen ...

(born 1946), journalist *

Karol Modzelewski Karol Cyryl Modzelewski (23 November 1937 – 28 April 2019) was a Polish historian, writer, politician and academic of Russian origin, one of the leading figures of the democratic opposition in the Polish People's Republic from the 1960s to the 1 ...

(1937–2019), historian, politician * Mirosław Nahacz (1984–2007), novelist, screenwriter *

Jerzy Neyman Jerzy Neyman (April 16, 1894 – August 5, 1981; born Jerzy Spława-Neyman; ) was a Polish mathematician and statistician who spent the first part of his professional career at various institutions in Warsaw, Poland and then at University Colleg ...

(1894–1981), mathematician, statistician,

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

professor *

Jan Olszewski Jan Ferdynand Olszewski (; 20 August 1930 – 7 February 2019) was a Polish conservative lawyer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Poland for five months between December 1991 and early June 1992 and later became a leading figure ...

(1930-2019), lawyer, politician,

(1991–1992) *

Janusz Onyszkiewicz Janusz Adam Onyszkiewicz (, born 18 December 1937) is a Polish mathematician, alpinist, politicianEuropa Publications, "The International Who's Who 2004", Routledge, 2003pg. 1258/ref> and was a vice-president of the European Parliament's Foreign ...

(born 1937), politician *

Maria Ossowska Maria Ossowska (''née'' Maria Niedźwiecka, 16 January 1896, Warsaw – 13 August 1974, Warsaw) was a Polish sociologist and social philosopher. Life A student of the philosopher Tadeusz Kotarbiński, she originally in 1925 received a doctorat ...

(1896–1974), sociologist *

Bohdan Paczyński Bohdan Paczyński or Bohdan Paczynski (8 February 1940 – 19 April 2007) was a Polish astronomer notable in the theory of the stellar evolution, accretion discs, and gamma ray bursts. Life Paczyński was born on 8 February 1940 in Vilnius, L ...

(1940–2007), astronomer *

Rafał Pankowski Rafał Pankowski (born 1976)Dr. Rafal Pankowski speaker profile

(born 1976), sociologist and political scientist *

Longin Pastusiak Longin Hieronim Pastusiak (pronounced ; born August 22, 1935 in Łódź, Poland) is a Polish politician and historian. Academic career In 1959 Pastusiak earned his Master of Arts degree form Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affa ...

(born 1935), politician,

Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland The Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is the presiding officer of the Senate of Poland. The marshal is also third person according to the Polish order of precedence, after Presiden ...

(2001–2005) *

Bolesław Piasecki Bolesław Bogdan Piasecki, alias Leon Całka, Wojciech z Królewca, Sablewski (18 February 1915 – 1 January 1979) was a Polish politician and writer. Biography In the Second Polish Republic he was one of the more prominent Polish nationa ...

(1915–1979), politician * Krzysztof Piesiewicz (born 1945), lawyer, screenwriter * Marian Pilot (born 1936), writer, journalist and screenwriter,

winner (2011) *

Moshe Prywes Moshe Prywes (משה פריבס; January 3, 1914 - March 1998) was a Polish-Israeli physician and educator. He was the first President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (1973-1975). Biography Prywes was born in Warsaw, Poland. He studied medic ...

(1914–1998), Israeli physician and educator; first President of

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

Adam Przeworski Adam Przeworski (; born May 5, 1940) is a Polish-American professor of political science specializing in comparative politics. He is Carroll and Milton Professor Emeritus in the Department of Politics of New York University. He is a scholar of de ...

(born 1940), political scientist,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

professor *

Bolesław Prus Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world li ...

(1847–1912), writer *

Mikhail Reisner , birth_date = , birth_place = Vileyka, Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union , spouse = Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Reisner , partner ...

(1868-1928), Russian and Soviet jurist, historian and academic. *

Emanuel Ringelblum Emanuel Ringelblum (November 21, 1900 – March 10 (most likely), 1944) was a Polish historian, politician and social worker, known for his ''Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto'', ''Notes on the Refugees in Zbąszyn'' chronicling the deportation of Je ...

(1900–1944), historian, founder

Emanuel Ringelblum Archives The Ringelblum Archive is a collection of documents from the World War II Warsaw Ghetto, collected and preserved by a group known by the codename Oyneg Shabbos (in Modern Hebrew, Modern Israeli Hebrew, Oneg Shabbat; he, עונג שבת), led by Je ...

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...

Emanuel Ringelblum: The Creator of “Oneg Shabbat”
Holocaust Research Project. *

Ireneusz Roszkowski Ireneusz Roszkowski (24 March 1910 – 21 April 1996) was a Polish people, Polish Nobility, nobleman, professor, founder of modern Polish gynaecology and obstetrics, a humanist, precursor of prenatal medicine, a supporter of midwives. He was one ...

(1910–1996), precursor of prenatal medicine * Józef Rotblat (1908–2005), physicist,

(1995) * Stefan Sarnowski (1939-2014), philosopher *

Stanisław Sedlaczek Stanisław Sedlaczek (31 January 1892 – 3 August 1941), born in Kołomyja, in what is now Ukraine," Stanisław Sedlaczek" aPolish Wikipedia ''Wikimedia Foundation''. Retrieved 2012-08-27. Link in Polish WP disambiguates between the town i ...

(1892–1941), social worker, leader of

Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...

(1915–2012), 7th

(1983–1984 and 1986–1992) *

Wacław Sierpiński Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński (; 14 March 1882 – 21 October 1969) was a Polish mathematician. He was known for contributions to set theory (research on the axiom of choice and the continuum hypothesis), number theory, theory of functions, and t ...

(1882–1969), mathematician *

Andrzej Sobolewski Andrzej Sobolewski (born 9 October 1951, Augustów) is a Polish physicist and academic working at the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. He is a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Foundation for Pol ...

(born 1951), physicist * Alexander Soloviev (1890-1971) Russian émigré jurist, historian, academic. * Dmitry Strelnikoff (born 1969), Russian writer, biologist, journalist for the media *

Kazimiera Szczuka Kazimiera Szczuka (Polish pronunciation: ; born 22 June 1966 in Warsaw) is a Polish historian of literature, literary critic, feminist, journalist and television personality, known from the Polish edition of ''The Weakest Link''. Life and caree ...

(born 1966), literary critic, feminist,

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

activist, television personality * Marzena Ozarek Szilke, archaeologist, anthropologist and paleopathologist *

Adam Szymczyk Adam Szymczyk (Polish pronunciation: ; born in 1970 in Piotrków Trybunalski), is a Polish art critic and curator, writer and editor. He lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland. Between 2003–2014, he was the director and chief curator at Kunsth ...

(born 1970), art critic and curator * Magdalena Środa (born 1957), philosopher and feminist *

Alfred Tarski Alfred Tarski (, born Alfred Teitelbaum;School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews ''School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews''. January 14, 1901 – October 26, 1983) was a Polish-American logician a ...

(1902–1982), logician, mathematician, member of the Lwów-Warsaw school of logic *

Władysław Tatarkiewicz Władysław Tatarkiewicz (; 3 April 1886, Warsaw – 4 April 1980, Warsaw) was a Polish philosopher, historian of philosophy, historian of art, esthetician, and ethicist. Early life and education Tatarkiewicz began his higher education at ...

(1886–1980), philosopher, historian of esthetics *

Olga Tokarczuk Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk (; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland; in 2019, she was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize ...

(born 1962), writer, essayist, psychologist, Nobel Prize in Literature (2018) *

Rafał Trzaskowski Rafał Kazimierz Trzaskowski (; born 17 January 1972) is a Polish politician and the current city mayor of Warsaw. He is also a political scientist specializing in European studies. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (2009–2013) ...

(born 1972), politician, academic teacher,

* Julian Tuwim (1894–1953), poet and writer * Alfred Twardecki (born 1962), archaeologist, historian of antiquity, museologist *

Andrzej Udalski Andrzej Jarosław Udalski (born 22 January 1957 in Łódź, Poland) is a Polish people, Polish astronomer and astrophysicist, and director of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw. He is also head of the Department of Observat ...

(born 1957), astronomer and astrophysicist * Mordkhe Veynger (1890–1929), Soviet-Jewish linguist *

Kostiantyn Voblyi Kostiantyn Hryhorovych Voblyi ( uk, Костянтин Григорович Воблий; May 27, 1876, Tsarychanka (now Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk region) - September 12, 1947, Kyiv) - Ukrainian economic geographer, scientist economist ...

(1876-1947), Ukrainian economist, academic, active in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. *

Andrzej Kajetan Wróblewski Andrzej Kajetan Wróblewski (Polish pronunciation: ''Vrooblevski'', born 7 August 1933 in Warsaw) – Polish experimental physicist, ordinary professor doctor habilitatus (since 1971), dean of the Physics Department Warsaw University (1986–198 ...

(born 1933), experimental physicist *

Janusz Andrzej Zajdel Janusz Andrzej Zajdel (15 August 1938 – 19 July 1985) was a Polish people, Polish science fiction authors, science fiction author, second in popularity in Poland to Stanisław Lem. His major genres were social science fiction and dystopia ...

(1938–1985), physicist and science-fiction writer *

Ludwik Zamenhof L. L. Zamenhof (15 December 185914 April 1917) was an ophthalmologist who lived for most of his life in Warsaw. He is best known as the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language. Zamenhof first ...

(1859–1917), physician, inventor of Esperanto *

Andrzej Zaniewski Andrzej Zaniewski (born April 13, 1939) is a Polish poet, prose writer and songwriter. Early life and career Andrzej Zaniewski was born on April 13, 1939, in Warsaw, Poland. Zaniewski completed his studies of art history at the University of W ...

(born 1939), author and poet * Paweł Zarzeczny (1961–2017), sports journalist, columnist and TV personality * Anna Zawadzka (1919–2004), social worker, leader of

* Maciej Zembaty (1944–2011), poet, writer, translator of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

's works * Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz (born 1964), writer *

Florian Znaniecki Florian Witold Znaniecki (15 January 1882 – 23 March 1958) was a Polish philosopher and sociologist who taught and wrote in Poland and in the United States. Over the course of his work he shifted his focus from philosophy to sociology. H ...

(1882–1958), philosopher and sociologist

Notable staff

Zigmunt Bauman na 20 Forumi vydavciv(Cropped)

Professors

Osman Achmatowicz Osman Achmatowicz (April 16, 1899 – December 4, 1988) was a Polish professor of chemistry of Lipka Tatars, Lipka Tatar descent. His son, Osman Achmatowicz Jr., (also a chemist) is credited with the Achmatowicz reaction in 1971. Biography Profes ...

(1899–1988), chemist, rector of the

Technical University of Łódź Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...

(1946–1953) * Vladimir Prokhorovich Amalitskii (1860–1917), paleontologist * Szymon Askenazy (1866–1935), historian *

Aleksandr Nikolaevich Bartenev Aleksandr Nikolaevich Bartenev (russian: Александр Николаевич Бартенев; 1882 — 1946) was a zoologist, professor, Doctor of Sciences, Doctor of Biological Sciences, and Rector (academia), Rector of Rostov State Universit ...

(1882-1946), zoologist * Maria Ludwika Bernhard (1908–1998), archaeologist *

Karol Borsuk Karol Borsuk (May 8, 1905 – January 24, 1982) was a Polish mathematician. His main interest was topology, while he obtained significant results also in functional analysis. Borsuk introduced the theory of '' absolute retracts'' (ARs) and ''abs ...

(1905–1982), mathematician *

Franciszek Bujak Franciszek Bujak (16 August 1875, in Maszkienice near Brzesko – 21 March 1953, in Kraków) was a Polish academic and historian of economic, political and social history of Poland. He served as professor of the Jagiellonian University twice, in ...

(1919–1921) historian *

Jan Niecisław Baudouin de Courtenay Jan Niecisław Ignacy Baudouin de Courtenay (13 March 1845 – 3 November 1929) was a Polish linguist and Slavist, best known for his theory of the phoneme and phonetic alternations. For most of his life Baudouin de Courtenay worked at Imper ...

(1845–1929), linguist, introduced the concept of a

phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...

Zygmunt Bauman Zygmunt Bauman (; 19 November 1925 – 9 January 2017) was a Polish sociologist and philosopher. He was driven out of the Polish People's Republic during the 1968 Polish political crisis and forced to give up his Polish citizenship. He emigrat ...

(1925–2017), sociologist *

(born 1950), physisct, Laureate of Agilient Technologies Europhysics Prize of The European Physical Society (2005) *

Samuel Dickstein Samuel Dickstein (February 5, 1885 – April 22, 1954) was a Democratic Congressional Representative from New York (22-year tenure), a New York State Supreme Court Justice, and a Soviet spy. He played a key role in establishing the committee th ...

(1851-1939), mathematician, proponent of Jewish assimilation in Poland *

Benedykt Dybowski Benedykt Tadeusz Dybowski (12 May 183331 January 1930) was a Polish naturalist and physician. Life Benedykt Dybowski was born in Adamaryni, within the Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire to Polish nobility. He was the brother of naturalis ...

(1833–1930), biologist and explorer of

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

and

Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Rep ...

area * Aleksandr Mikhailovich Evlakhov (1880-1966), literary critic * Michel Foucault (1926–1984), French philosopher, at the university dean-faculty of the French Centre 1958–1959 * Stanisław Grabski (1871–1949), economist * Dmitri Iosifovich Ivanovsky (1864-1920), botanist, pioneer in the discovery and study of viruses *

Henryk Jabłoński Henryk Jan Jabłoński (; 27 December 1909 – 27 January 2003) was a Polish historian and politician. After 1948, he became a politician of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party, as well as a historian and professor at Warsaw University. He s ...

(1909–2003), historian, nominal head of state of Poland (1972–1985) *

Feliks Pawel Jarocki Feliks is a variant spelling of the given name Felix, used in Poland and the Baltic states, as well as in the transliteration of the name Felix from Russian. Feliks may refer to: *Feliks Ankerstein (1897–1955), Polish Army major and intellige ...

(1790–1865), zoologist *

Barbara Jaruzelska Halina Barbara Jaruzelska ( née Ryfa; 23 January 1931 – 29 May 2017) was a Polish academic, philologist, and professor of German studies and language. Jaruzelska was the First Lady of Poland from 1985 to 1990 during the government of her husb ...

(1931–2017), philologist and German studies professor,

First Lady of Poland First Lady of the Republic of Poland is an informal designation customarily applied to the wife of the president of the Republic of Poland (as so far all Polish presidents have been male). The First Lady does not hold a constitutional position and ...

(1985–1990) * Nikolai Ivanovich Kareev (1850-1931), philosopher, historian * Yefim Fyodorovich Karsky (1861-1931) linguist, etnographer, paleographer *

Jerzy Kolendo Jerzy Władysław Kolendo (9 June 1933, Brześć, Poland – 28 February 2014, Warsaw) was an acknowledged Polish authority on the history and archaeology of Ancient Rome. He was an exponent of the French Annales school, an epigraphist and spec ...

(1955-1983), classical archaeologist and historian *

(1927–2009), philosopher *

Kazimierz Kuratowski Kazimierz Kuratowski (; 2 February 1896 – 18 June 1980) was a Polish mathematician and logician. He was one of the leading representatives of the Warsaw School of Mathematics. Biography and studies Kazimierz Kuratowski was born in Warsaw, (t ...

(1896–1980), mathematician * Joachim Lelewel (1786–1861), historian, politician and freedom fighter * Antoni Leśniowski (1867–1940), surgeon and medic, one of the discoverers of Crohn's disease * Edward Lipiński (1888–1986), economist, founder of the Main Statistical Office *

Jan Łukasiewicz Jan Łukasiewicz (; 21 December 1878 – 13 February 1956) was a Polish logician and philosopher who is best known for Polish notation and Łukasiewicz logic His work centred on philosophical logic, mathematical logic and history of logic. ...

(1878–1956), mathematician and logician * Mieczysław Maneli (1922–1994), jurist * Leszek Marks (born 1951), geologist *

Kazimierz Michałowski Kazimierz Józef Marian Michałowski (born December 14, 1901 in Tarnopol – January 1, 1981 in Warsaw) was a Polish archaeologist and Egyptologist, art historian, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, professor ordinarius of the Univer ...

(1901–1981), archaeologist, explorer of Deir el Bahari and

Faras Faras (formerly grc, Παχώρας, ''Pakhôras''; la, Pachoras; Old Nubian: Ⲡⲁⲭⲱⲣⲁⲥ, ''Pakhoras'') was a major city in Lower Nubia. The site of the city, on the border between modern Egypt and Sudan at Wadi Halfa Salient, was fl ...

* Andrzej Mostowski (1913–1975), mathematician * Nikolai Viktorovich Nasonov (1855-1939), zoologist *

(1896–1974), sociologist * Stanisław Ossowski (1897–1963), sociologist *

Vladimir Ivanovich Palladin Vladimir Ivanovich Palladin (russian: Влади́мир Ива́нович Палла́дин; – 3 February 1922) was a Russian/Soviet biochemist and botanist, a member of Saint Petersburg of Academy of Sciences. After graduating in 1883 fro ...

(1859-1922), biochemist, botanist *

Grigol Peradze Saint Grigol Peradze ( ka, გრიგოლ ფერაძე; 13 September 1899 – 6 December 1942) was a prominent Georgian ecclesiastic figure, philologist, theologian, historian, and professor of patristics in the interwar period. Li ...

(1899–1942), Orthodox theologian * Leon Petrażycki (1867–1931), jurist, philosopher and logician, one of the founders of

sociology of law The sociology of law (legal sociology, or law and society) is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies. Some see sociology of law as belonging "necessarily" to the field of sociology, ...

Ladislaus Pilars de Pilar Ladislaus Baron Pilars de Pilar ( pl, Władysław Pilars de Pilar, Opatówek, 3 March 1874 - Chorzów, 22 November 1952) was a Polish poet, historian, entrepreneur and a literature professor at the University of Warsaw. Biography He was a son o ...

(1874–1952), literature professor, poet and entrepreneur *

Adam Podgórecki Adam Podgórecki (1925–1998) was a sociologist and one of the founders of the Research Committee on Sociology of Law. Podgórecki was also one of the founders of the first institute at Warsaw University which was devoted to the social scientific s ...

(1925–1998), sociologist of law * Dmitry Yakovlevich Samokvasov (1843-1911), archaeologist, legal historian *

Henryk Samsonowicz Henryk Bohdan Samsonowicz (23 January 1930 – 28 May 2021) was a Polish historian specializing in medieval Poland, prolific writer, and professor of the University of Warsaw. In 1989–1990, he was the minister of education in the government of ...

(1930–2021), historian, rector (1980–1982) *

(1882–1969), mathematician * Alfred Sokołowski (1849–1924), physician and a pioneer in

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

treatment *

Hélène Sparrow Hélène Sparrow (5 June 1891 – 13 November 1970), was a Polish medical doctor and bacteriologist. She is best known for her work on the control of many epidemics including: typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, and smallpox."Hélène Sparrow-Germ ...

(1891–1970), bacteriologist and public health pioneer, especially typhus *

Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin (Russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Со́нин, February 22, 1849 – February 27, 1915) was a Russian mathematician. Biography He was born in Tula and attended Lomonosov University, studying mathematic ...

(1849–1915), mathematician *

Jan Strelau Jan Strelau (born 30 May 1931 in Gdańsk; died 4 August 2020 in Warsaw) was a Polish psychologist best known for his studies on temperament. He was professor of psychology at Warsaw University from 1968 to 2001 and was since 2001 professor at ...

(born 1931), psychologist *

Jerzy Szacki Jerzy Ryszard Szacki (6 February 1929 – 25 October 2016) was a Polish sociology, sociologist and History of ideas, historian of ideas.Jerzy Szacki, Liberalism after communism, Central European University Press, 1995, back cover/ref>Nauka Polska, ...

(1929–2016), sociologist and historian *

Andrzej K. Tarkowski Andrzej Krzysztof Tarkowski (4 May 1933 – 23 September 2016) was a Polish embryologist and a professor at Warsaw University. He is best known for his pioneering researches on embryos and blastomeres, which have created theoretical and practical ...

(born 1933), zoologist, Laureate of Japan Prize (2002) *

Stanisław Thugutt Stanisław August Thugutt (30 July 1873, Łęczyca - 15 June 1941, Stockholm) was a Polish activist and politician during the interwar period of the Second Polish Republic. During World War I, he was a soldier in the Polish Legions. He was t ...

(1873–1941), politician, rector (1919–1920) * Georgy Feodosevich Voronoy (1868-1908), mathematician * Tadeusz Wałek-Czarnecki (1889–1949), professor of Ancient History *

Ewa Wipszycka Ewa Maria Wipszycka-Bravo (born 27 November 1933, Warsaw) is a Polish historian and papyrologist specializing in ancient history; a humanities professor and professor emerita at the University of Warsaw. Life and career During her studies at the U ...

(born 1933), historian and papyrologist *

Władysław Witwicki Władysław Witwicki (30 April 1878, Lubaczów – 21 December 1948, Konstancin-Jeziorna, Konstancin) was a Poles, Polish psychologist, philosopher, Translation, translator (mainly of Plato's works into Polish language, Polish), historian (of phi ...

(1878–1948), psychologist, philosopher, translator and artist * Georgy Viktorovich Wulff (1863-1925), crystallographer * Włodzimierz Zonn (1905–1985), astronomer

Rectors

# Wojciech Szweykowski (1818–1831) # Józef Karol Skrodzki (1831) # Józef Mianowski (1862–1869) # Piotr Ławrowski (1869–1873) # Nikołaj Błagowieszczański (1874–1884) # Nikołaj Ławrowski (1884–1890) # Michaił Szałfiejew (1895) # Pawieł Kowalewski (1896) # Grigorij Zenger (1896) # Michaił Szałfiejew (1898) # Grigorij Uljanow (1899–1903) # Piotr Ziłow (1904) #

Yefim Karskiy Yefim Fyodorovich Karsky ( be, Яўхім Фёдаравіч Карскі, Jaŭchim Fiodaravič Karski, russian: Ефим Фёдорович Карский; russian: Евфимий Феодорович Карский, older name form) (1 January 1 ...

(1905–1911) # Wasilij Kudrewiecki (1911–1912) # Iwan Trepicyn (1913) # Siergiej Wiechow (1914–1915) #

Józef Brudziński Józef Polikarp Brudziński (26 January 1874, Bolewo – 18 December 1917, Warsaw) was a Polish pediatrician born in the village of Bolewo (now in Mława County). He studied medicine in Tartu and Moscow, and in 1897 moved to Kraków, where he ...

(1915–1917) # Antoni Kostanecki (1917–1919) #

(1919–1920) # Jan Karol Kochanowski (1920–1921) # Jan Mazurkiewicz (1921–1922) #

(1922–1923) # Ignacy Koschembahr-Łyskowski (1923–1924) # Franciszek Krzyształowicz (1924–1925) # Stefan Pieńkowski (1925–1926) # Bolesław Hryniewiecki (1926–1927) # Antoni Szlagowski (1927–1928) # Gustaw Przychocki (1928–1929) # Tadeusz Brzeski (1929–1930) #

Mieczysław Michałowicz Mieczysław Michałowicz (10 September 1876 – 22 December 1965) was a Polish social and political activist, medical doctor of pediatrics, and professor of the Warsaw University. Career Michałowicz was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He was ...

(1930–1931) #

(1931–1932) # Józef Ujejski (1932–1933) # Stefan Pieńkowski (1933–1936) # Włodzimierz Antoniewicz (1936–1939) # Jerzy Modrakowski (1939) # Stefan Pieńkowski (1945–1947) # Franciszek Czubalski (1947–1949) # Jan Wasilkowski (1949–1952) # Stanisław Turski (1952–1969) # Zygmunt Rybicki (1969–1980) #

(1980–1982) # Kazimierz Albin Dobrowolski (1982–1985) # ''Rector electus'' Klemens Szaniawski (1984) # Grzegorz Białkowski (1985–1989) #

(1989–1993) # Włodzimierz Siwiński (1993–1999) # Piotr Węgleński (1999–2005) # Katarzyna Chałasińska-Macukow (2005–2012) # Marcin Pałys (2012–2020) #

Alojzy Nowak Alojzy Zbigniew Nowak (born 20 March 1956) is a Polish economist. In 2020 he was elected Rector of the University of Warsaw. Life and education In 1984 he graduated with a master's degree from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics. In 1991 he ear ...

(since 2020)

Staff

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, ...

– janitor at Warsaw University Library during World War II; recipient of 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Notes

External links

*
The WU Students Association

Website of The University New Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warsaw, University of Educational institutions established in 1816 1816 establishments in the Russian Empire 1810s establishments in Poland

History

Beginnings under Alexander I (1816–1918)

Second Polish Republic (1918–1939)

World War II (1939–1945)

Post-war and the People's Republic (1945–1989)

Third Polish Republic (1989–present)

Campus

Main campus

Natural sciences campus

Faculties

Other institutes

Institutions

The university in popular culture

Notable alumni

Notable staff

Professors

Rectors

Staff

See also

Notes

External links