The Society for Elementary Books (Polish: ''Towarzystwo do Ksiąg Elementarnych''; 1775–92) was an institution formed by

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 populous ...

's Commission of National Education (''Komisja Edukacji Narodowej'') 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 ...

in 1775. The Society's mandate was to design school syllabuses and

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textboo ...

s for newly reformed schools.

History

Since education in Poland had until then been conducted mostly in

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

, the Commission of National Education faced the problem of an almost complete lack of textbooks. It was to cope with this problem that the Society for Elementary Books was formed. At times the scientists who worked on the new Polish-language textbooks had to invent the requisite specialized vocabulary. Much of the vocabulary that they invented, related to chemistry, physics, mathematics and grammar, is still in use today, and some of the Society's textbooks were in use as late as 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 ...

(1918–39) The chairman of the Society for Elementary Books, in the years 1775-1791 was

Ignacy Potocki Count Roman Ignacy Potocki, generally known as Ignacy Potocki (; 1750–1809), was a Polish nobleman, member of the influential magnate Potocki family, owner of Klementowice and Olesin (near Kurów), a politician, writer, and office holder. H ...

, and in 1792 Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz. The main secretary, in the years 1775-1787, was Grzegorz Piramowicz, later

Franciszek Zabłocki Franciszek Zabłocki (2 January 1754, Volhynia – 10 September 1821, Końskowola), is considered the most distinguished Polish comic dramatist and satirist of the Enlightenment period. He descends from an old aristocratic family of Poland with ...

. Significant contributions to the Society's activities were put by Hugo Kołłątaj. The ordinary members of the Society were also: John the Baptist Albertrandi, Józef Bogucicki, Paweł Czempiński, Jędrzej Gawroński, Szymon L'Huillier,

Szczepan Hołowczyc Szczepan Hołowczyc '' de armis'' Pierzchała (19 August 1741–27 August 1823) was Archbishop of Warsaw from 17 December 1819 until his death and a Senator of Congress Poland. He was the son of Basil and Mary Hołowczyc (), who came from a ...

, Adam Jakukiewicz, Grzegorz Kniażewicz, Józef Koblański

Onufry Kopczyński Onufry Kopczyński (30 November 1736 – 14 February 1817) was an important educator and grammarian of the Polish language during the Polish Enlightenment.

, Feliks Łojko, Kazimierz Narbutt,

Antoni Popławski Antoni Popławski (1739–1799) was a Polish Piarist educator and economist. A physiocrat and a proponent of the emancipation of serfs, in 1774 he coined the term " noble democracy" to describe the political system of the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

, Stefan Roussel,

Sebastian Sierakowski Sebastian Alojzy Sierakowski (9 January 1743 – 9 August 1824) was a Polish architect and Jesuit pastor. Biography Sierakowski was born on 9 January 1743 in Bogusławice. His uncle, , was the Bishop of Przemyśl. He studied at the and, in 17 ...

, Józef Wybicki and scientific directors in

Corps of Cadets (Warsaw) ''Szkoła Rycerska'' ( en, School of Chivalry) or ''Akademia Szlachecka Korpusu Kadetów Jego Królewskiej Mości i Rzeczypospolitej'' (English: ''Nobles' Academy of the Corps of Cadets of His Royal Majesty and the Commonwealth'') was the first st ...

- Christian Pfleiderer (German professor of mathematics) and

Michał Jan Hube Michał () is a Polish and Sorbian form of Michael and may refer to: * Michał Bajor (born 1957), Polish actor and musician * Michał Chylinski (born 1986), Polish basketball player * Michał Drzymała (1857–1937), Polish rebel * Michał Heller ( ...

. The honorary members of the Society were: Jan Dubois de Jancigny, Piotr Samuel Dupont de Nemours and Scipione PiattoliTeodor Wierzbowski: Protokóły posiedzeń Towarzystwa do Ksiąg Elementarnych 1775-1792. Warszawa: Komisya Edukacyjna, 1908. Famous books created by the Society included ''Elementarz dla szkół parafialnych'' and ''Gramatyka dla szkół narodowych z przypisami''. The Society was chaired by

, and its general secretary was Grzegorz Piramowicz. Hugo Kołłątaj made many important contributions to the Society's projects. Members included

Onufry Kopczyński Onufry Kopczyński (30 November 1736 – 14 February 1817) was an important educator and grammarian of the Polish language during the Polish Enlightenment.

, Kazimierz Narbutt, Józef Wybicki and the academic directors of the

Corps of Cadets A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...

— Ch. Pfleiderer (mathematics) and

. The Society was dissolved in 1792, in anticipation of the coming total dissolution of the Polish state.

References

Bibliography

* T. Wierzbowski: ''Komisja Edukacji Narodowej 1773-1794. Monografia historyczna'', t. 1: A. Opracowania i źródła drukowane, B. Źródła archiwalne, Warszawa 1911. * A. Jobert: ''La Commission d'Éducation Nationale en Polgne (1773-1794). Son oeuvre d'instruction civique'', Paryż 1941, s. 1-24. 1775 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1792 disestablishments in Europe Educational organisations based in Poland History of education in Poland 1790s disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Science and technology in Poland {{Edu-org-stub