Regina Fleszarowa (28 March 1888 – 1 July 1969) 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 ...

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

, who participated in

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and served as a Senator in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

between 1935 and 1938. Studying at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, in 1913, she received the first

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

awarded to a Polish woman. Considered a pioneer in establishing earth sciences in Poland, she published over 100 works concerning the geography and geology of the country. Her 5 volume bibliography on the history of earth sciences in Poland is considered her greatest achievement. She was awarded the 1st Class Banner of the Order of Labor in 1960.

Early life

Regina Zofia Danysz was born on 28 March 1888 in Wiśniewo in the

Siedlce Governorate Siedlce Governorate (russian: Седлецкая Губерния (pre-1917 orthography: Сѣдлецкая Губернія), pl, Gubernia siedlecka) was an administrative unit ( governorate) of Congress Poland. History It was created in 1867 ...

Russian 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 ...

to Piotr Danysz. Her parents owned a small estate in Brusów, where she was raised and completed her elementary education. She went on to study 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 ...

and

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, before moving to Zurich in 1906. Focusing her education on geography, Danysz moved to Paris in 1907, to attend lectures on geography and geology, participating in research trips during the semester breaks to the

Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...

and

Kujawy Kuyavia ( pl, Kujawy; german: Kujawien; la, Cuiavia), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three t ...

, which were led by . In 1910, she received her licenciée in science from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1910, continuing on with doctoral studies. Studying with

Eugeniusz Romer Eugeniusz Mikołaj Romer (3 February 1871 in Lviv ( pl, Lwów, german: Lemberg) – 28 January 1954) was a distinguished Poles, Polish geographer, cartography, cartographer and geopolitics, geopolitician, whose maps and atlases are still hig ...

and

Charles Vélain Charles Vélain (16 May 1845 – 6 June 1925) was a French geologist and geographer. He was born in Château-Thierry. Charles Vélain's route to the field of geology was an unusual one. He was a student of pharmacy. He studied geology later a ...

, she prepared a thesis, ''Etude critique d'une carte ancienne de Pologne dresée par Stanislas Staszic (1806)'' (Critical study of an old map of Poland created by Stanislas Staszic

806 __NOTOC__ Year 806 ( DCCCVI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia * February 5 – Emperor Kanmu dies after a 25-year reign, that has seen Korea ...

which analyzed his topographical work in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

. Early in 1913, she received the first PhD of natural sciences awarded to a Polish woman.

Career

Beginning in 1912, Danysz lectured on topology and was active in the Rifle Association, as well as the women's legionnaires. She began her career in 1913 working with Romer, who was at the

University of Lviv The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

, compiling information on atmospheric precipitation over various locations throughout Poland. While working with Romer, she met a fellow geologist, , whom she would later marry. Danysz and Romer published their findings in Warsaw in 1913. Moving to

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been par ...

around 1915, she became active in the press for women's rights and served as chair of the Council of Polish Women ( pl, Rady Polek), attending the European conventions of the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., with ...

in Brussels, Dubrovnik and Edinburgh. She and Felszar married and had a son, Mieczysław Albin. The couple worked together on geological surveys in the Carpathian Mountains. After her husband's death in 1916, Fleszarowa and her son moved to Warsaw, where she worked for a short time at the Ministry of Public Enlightenment. In 1918, she helped found the Polish Geographical Society ( pl, Polskie Towarzystwo Geograficzne, PTG). In 1919, Fleszarowa became the librarian for the National Geological Institute in Warsaw. and acquired a collection of over 30,000 volumes during her tenure, which lasted until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She simultaneously continued her research, publishing articles such as ''Stanisław Staszic jako przyrodnik'' (Stanisław Staszic as a naturalist, 1926) and ''Spis jaskiń krajowych'' (List of National Caves, 1933) in scientific journals. Between 1920 and 1939, Fleszarowa published 18 texts for the Geological Bibliography of Poland. She also worked as an editor for ''Ziemia'', the journal of the Geographical Society starting in 1929. Over her lifetime, Fleszarowa published over 100 articles on the scientific history and geography of Poland, including compiling studies of Russian scientists on Polish territories, gathering information through questionnaires about the geological work done during the Occupation, as well as publishing a biographical dictionary of Polish geologists. Fleszarowa was appointed in 1935 to serve as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by the President of the Polish Republic. During her tenure, she focused on formal organization of scientific pursuits and expanding the rights of citizens. In 1937 was one of the organizers of the Democratic Club of Warsaw, serving as its vice-president and Democratic Alliance Party. Her Senate term ended in 1938 and during the

Occupation of Poland Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, she joined the underground movement, participating in the

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) esta ...

. Working in developing information and propaganda for the Home Army, she distributed maps and published literature, setting up an editorial office for underground writings. She worked to hide

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and led secret meeting of librarians, leading the effort to hide the archive of the Association of Polish Librarians. Fleeing the city before the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

in 1944, Fleszarowa went to

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

and worked as a contact to the

Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the lat ...

. In October 1944, she was appointed head of the Library Department of the Ministry of Education. In 1945, she served as co-founder in reorganizing the Women's League and was appointed to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Party government. Participating in peace conferences held in Moscow, Paris, Potsdam and Prague, she was one of the cartographers who delineated the western Polish border. From 1945 to 1948, she served on the City Council of Warsaw. In 1951 she began working at the Museum of Earth for the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

. She prepared a bibliography on the history of earth sciences in Poland, covering a 200-year period, prior to her retirement in 1958. This work was her "greatest scientific achievement", covering material from the mid-eighteenth century through the mid-twentieth century in 5 volumes. The first volumes, published in 1957 covered the twentieth century and the last volume, published in 1966 covered the material through the end of the 19th century, summarizing documents found in the records published by the Polish Geological Institute. Because she retired before the second volume was published, other editors worked to complete the publishing. After her retirement, Fleszarowa continued her work with the Women's League and attending meetings of the Polish Academy of Sciences, publishing works such as the ''Materiałach i Studiach z Dziejów Nauki Polskiej'' (Materials and Studies of the History of Polish Science) and two extensive studies. One of them evaluated the 200 year old geological map of Poland by J. S. Guetard and the other discussed Warsaw as it was described in ''The Physiographic Diary'' between 1881 and 1921. In 1960, she was awarded the 1st Class Banner of the Order of Labor.

Death and legacy

Fleszarowa died on board ship during a cruise on the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

river on 30 June or 1 July 1969. She was buried in Warsaw's

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki ( en, Old Powązki), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of t ...

. Her masterwork on the bibliography on the history of earth sciences has been supplemented by later scientists and she is viewed as a pioneer for establishing the field of earth science in Poland.

References

Citations

Bibliography