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 ...
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 official ...
,
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 ti ...
, technical, and the
natural science
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 repeata ...
s.
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 ...
,
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, propertie ...
,
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 (prof ...
and political science,
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. S ...
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 and ...
,
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 re ...
,
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 Ear ...
,
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 we ...
, applied
linguistics
Linguistics is the 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. Ling ...
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 ...
,
Polish language
Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as t ...
,
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 a ...
,
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 analy ...
,
law 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 esta ...
,
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 betwe ...
, 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 soci ...
, management and
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern 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 (includin ...
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 objects r ...
.
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
The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universit ...
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
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania fo ...
left
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 official ...
with access only to the
Academy of Vilnius when the oldest and most influential Polish academic center, the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
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
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
. In 1815, the newly established semi-autonomous
polity
A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of ...
of
Congress Poland
Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. ...
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. T ...
. In 1816,
Alexander I 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
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
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
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
.

In 1915, during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, 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 ...
'', 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)

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,
senate
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 e ...
, 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.
Scholar ...
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
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-li ...
was expanded.
After the death of
Józef Piłsudski
), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania)
, death_date =
, death_place = Warsaw, Poland
, constituency =
, party = None (formerly PPS)
, spouse =
, children = Wa ...
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, 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 United ...
in the United States.
World War II (1939–1945)

After the
Polish Defensive War of 1939 the German authorities of the
General Government
The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...
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 while the main campus of the University of Warsaw was turned into
military barracks.
German racial theories assumed that no education of Poles was needed and the whole nation was to be turned into uneducated
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
s 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
The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II, resistance movement in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed i ...
and
Szare Szeregi. 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 ri ...
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 intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
. 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
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theor ...
started. Many professors were arrested by the
Urząd Bezpieczeństwa (Secret Police), the books were
censored 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
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.
Scholar ...
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 U ...
to ban the production of ''
Dziady'' by
Mickiewicz at the
Teatr Narodowy, 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 Po ...
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 ''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
''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
movement and other societies of the democratic opposition which led to the
collapse of communism. 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 ...
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

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 palac ...
street. It comprises several historic
palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
s, most of which had been nationalized in the 19th century. The chief buildings include:
*
Kazimierzowski Palace (''Pałac Kazimierzowski'') – the seat of the
rector and the
Senate
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 e ...
;
*
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 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 campus is part of an almost contiguous area of scientific and educational facilities covering approximately .
Faculties

#
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
#
Faculty of Sociology
#
Faculty of Philosophy
#
Faculty of Physics
#
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
* 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 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 technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronic ...
* 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
* 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
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar '' James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., ...
'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 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 British Secret Service age ...
who is the head of the global criminal organisation
SPECTRE, 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 ser ...
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

*
Jerzy Andrzejewski (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 th ...
*
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński (1921–1944), poet,
Home Army soldier killed 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 ...
*
Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
(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 exe ...
(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, Physiology ...
winner (1978)
*
Marek Bieńczyk (born 1956), writer, historian of literature, essayist and translator,
Nike Award winner (2012)
*
Adam Bodnar (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
Boro ...
(1922–1951), poet, writer
*
Kazimierz Brandys (1916–2000), writer
*
Marian Brandys (1912–1998), writer, journalist
*
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading ...
(1810–1849), pianist, composer
*
Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (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 responsi ...
(1996–1997),
Marshal of the Sejm (2005)
*
Tomasz Dietl (born 1950), physicist
*
Samuel Eilenberg (1913–1998), mathematician, computer scientist, art collector
*
Barbara Engelking (born 1962), sociologist
*
Joseph Epstein (1911–1944), communist leader of French resistance
*
Lech Gardocki (born 1944) lawyer, judge, former First President of the
Supreme Court of Poland
*
Marek Gazdzicki (born 1956), nuclear physicist
*
Bronisław Geremek (1932–2008), historian, politician
*
Małgorzata Gersdorf (born 1952), lawyer, first President of the
Supreme Court of Poland
*
Maciej Gliwicz (born 1939), biologist
*
Witold Gombrowicz (1904–1969), writer
*
Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz (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 bran ...
(1992–2001),
Mayor of Warsaw (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 (born 1937), musicologist
*
Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (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 outcomes ...
(1917–2008), economist, mathematician,
Nobel Prize in Economics (2007)
*
Maria Janion (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 196 ...
(born 1963) fashion designer, journalist, daughter of former
Polish President 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 (1930–2018), historian of ideas, anti-communist activist
*
Jarosław Kaczyński (born 1949), 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 responsi ...
(2006–2007)
*
Lech Kaczyński (1949–2010), politician,
Mayor of Warsaw (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 (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 ...
*
Aleksander Kamiński (1903–1978), writer, leader of
Polish Scouting and Guiding Association
*
Ryszard Kapuściński (1932–2007), writer and journalist
*
Mieczysław Karłowicz (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 a ...
(1914–2000), Polish resistance fighter
*
Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska (1925–2015), paleobiologist
*
Leszek Kołakowski (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 exercise ...
(born 1952), politician,
Marshal of the Sejm (2007–2010),
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 ...
(2010–2015)
*
Alpha Oumar Konaré, (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 (born 1942),
conservative-liberal politician and journalist
*
Marek Kotański (1942–2002), psychologist and streetworker
*
Jacek Kuroń (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 ...
(1926–1991), literature historian, politician
*
Ewa Łętowska (born 1940), lawyer, first
Polish Ombudsman for Citizen Rights
*
Jerzy Łojek (1932–1986), historian, writer
*
Pawel Maciag (born 1978), lawyer, university professor in New York, diplomat, and journalist
*
Olga Malinkiewicz (born 1982), physicist
*
Tadeusz Mazowiecki (1927–2013), author, social worker, journalist,
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 responsi ...
(1989–1991)
*
Adam Michnik (born 1946), journalist
*
Karol Modzelewski (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 College ...
(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 Fr ...
professor
*
Jan Olszewski (1930-2019), lawyer, 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 responsi ...
(1991–1992)
*
Janusz Onyszkiewicz (born 1937), politician
*
Maria Ossowska (1896–1974), sociologist
*
Bohdan Paczyński (1940–2007), astronomer
*
Rafał Pankowski (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 (1915–1979), politician
*
Krzysztof Piesiewicz (born 1945), lawyer, screenwriter
*
Marian Pilot (born 1936), writer, journalist and screenwriter,
Nike Award winner (2011)
*
Moshe Prywes (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: th ...
*
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 dem ...
(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, t ...
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 lit ...
(1847–1912), writer
*
Mikhail Reisner (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 J ...
(1900–1944), historian, founder
Emanuel Ringelblum Archives of
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 ...
[Emanuel Ringelblum: The Creator of “Oneg Shabbat”]
Holocaust Research Project.
*
Ireneusz Roszkowski (1910–1996), precursor of prenatal medicine
*
Józef Rotblat (1908–2005), physicist,
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, Physiology ...
(1995)
*
Stefan Sarnowski (1939-2014), philosopher
*
Stanisław Sedlaczek (1892–1941), social worker, leader of
Polish Scouting and Guiding Association
*
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
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 exe ...
(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, an ...
(1882–1969), mathematician
*
Andrzej Sobolewski (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 (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, , 33 ...
activist, television personality
*
Marzena Ozarek Szilke, archaeologist, anthropologist and paleopathologist
*
Adam Szymczyk (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 (born 1962), writer, essayist, psychologist,
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
(2018)
*
Rafał Trzaskowski (born 1972), politician, academic teacher,
Mayor of Warsaw
*
Julian Tuwim (1894–1953), poet and writer
*
Alfred Twardecki (born 1962), archaeologist, historian of antiquity, museologist
*
Andrzej Udalski (born 1957), astronomer and astrophysicist
*
Mordkhe Veynger (1890–1929), Soviet-Jewish linguist
*
Kostiantyn Voblyi (1876-1947), Ukrainian economist, academic, active in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union.
*
Andrzej Kajetan Wróblewski (born 1933), experimental physicist
*
Janusz Andrzej Zajdel (1938–1985), physicist and science-fiction writer
*
Ludwik Zamenhof (1859–1917), physician, inventor of
Esperanto
Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international commun ...
*
Andrzej Zaniewski (born 1939), author and poet
*
Paweł Zarzeczny (1961–2017), sports journalist, columnist and TV personality
*
Anna Zawadzka (1919–2004), social worker, leader of
Polish Scouting and Guiding Association
*
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
Professors
*
Osman Achmatowicz (1899–1988), chemist, rector of the
Technical University of Łódź (1946–1953)
*
Vladimir Prokhorovich Amalitskii (1860–1917), paleontologist
*
Szymon Askenazy (1866–1935), historian
*
Aleksandr Nikolaevich Bartenev (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 '' ab ...
(1905–1982), mathematician
*
Franciszek Bujak (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 Imperia ...
(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-w ...
*
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
*
Tomasz Dietl (born 1950), physisct, Laureate of Agilient Technologies Europhysics Prize of The European Physical Society (2005)
*
Samuel Dickstein (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 naturali ...
(1833–1930), biologist and explorer of
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive 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 part o ...
and
Baikal area
*
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Evlakhov (1880-1966), literary critic
*
Michel Foucault
Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and ho ...
(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 (1909–2003), historian, nominal head of state of Poland (1972–1985)
*
Feliks Pawel Jarocki (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 husban ...
(1931–2017), philologist and German studies professor,
First Lady of Poland (1985–1990)
*
Nikolai Ivanovich Kareev (1850-1931), philosopher, historian
*
Yefim Fyodorovich Karsky (1861-1931) linguist, etnographer, paleographer
*
Jerzy Kolendo (1955-1983), classical archaeologist and historian
*
Leszek Kołakowski (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, ...
(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
Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension, ...
*
Edward Lipiński (1888–1986), economist, founder of the
Main Statistical Office
*
Jan Łukasiewicz (1878–1956), mathematician and logician
*
Mieczysław Maneli (1922–1994),
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...
*
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 U ...
(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 ...
*
Andrzej Mostowski (1913–1975), mathematician
*
Nikolai Viktorovich Nasonov (1855-1939), zoologist
*
Maria Ossowska (1896–1974), sociologist
*
Stanisław Ossowski (1897–1963), sociologist
*
Vladimir Ivanovich Palladin (1859-1922), biochemist, botanist
*
Grigol Peradze (1899–1942), Orthodox theologian
*
Leon Petrażycki (1867–1931),
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...
, 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 (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 ...
(1925–1998),
sociologist of law
*
Dmitry Yakovlevich Samokvasov (1843-1911), archaeologist, legal historian
*
Henryk Samsonowicz (1930–2021), historian, rector (1980–1982)
*
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, an ...
(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, in w ...
treatment
*
Hélène Sparrow (1891–1970), bacteriologist and public health pioneer, especially typhus
*
Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin (1849–1915), mathematician
*
Jan Strelau (born 1931), psychologist
*
Jerzy Szacki (1929–2016), sociologist and historian
*
Andrzej K. Tarkowski (born 1933), zoologist, Laureate of
Japan Prize
is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind." The P ...
(2002)
*
Stanisław Thugutt (1873–1941), politician, rector (1919–1920)
*
Georgy Feodosevich Voronoy (1868-1908), mathematician
*
Tadeusz Wałek-Czarnecki (1889–1949), professor of Ancient History
*
Ewa Wipszycka (born 1933), historian and papyrologist
*
Władysław Witwicki (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 (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)
#
Stanisław Thugutt (1919–1920)
# Jan Karol Kochanowski (1920–1921)
# Jan Mazurkiewicz (1921–1922)
#
Jan Łukasiewicz (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 (1930–1931)
#
Jan Łukasiewicz (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)
#
Henryk Samsonowicz (1980–1982)
# Kazimierz Albin Dobrowolski (1982–1985)
# ''Rector electus'' Klemens Szaniawski (1984)
# Grzegorz Białkowski (1985–1989)
#
Andrzej Kajetan Wróblewski (1989–1993)
# Włodzimierz Siwiński (1993–1999)
# Piotr Węgleński (1999–2005)
#
Katarzyna Chałasińska-Macukow (2005–2012)
# Marcin Pałys (2012–2020)
#
Alojzy Nowak (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
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
.
See also
*
List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
The list of modern universities in Europe (1801–1940) contains all universities that were founded in Europe after the French Revolution and before the end of World War II. Universities are regarded as comprising all institutions of higher e ...
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Open access in Poland
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Warsaw School of History (
Askenazy school)
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Warsaw School of Mathematics
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Main building of Warsaw University (Rostov-on-Don)
Notes
External links
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The WU Students AssociationWebsite of The University New Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warsaw, University of
Educational institutions established in 1816
1816 establishments in the Russian Empire
1810s establishments in Poland