Antoni Bolesław Dobrowolski (6 June 1872 – 27 April 1954) was a Polish

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

and explorer.

Early life

Dobrowolski was born into an indigent family in Dworszowice Kościelne, and supported himself from the age of 12 by teaching younger students while a high school student in Warsaw. His involvement in seeking Polish independence led to a conviction to three years imprisonment in the Caucasus, but after two years he escaped and started studying in Switzerland and Belgium.

Belgian Antarctic Expedition

While still a student in biology, physics and chemistry at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...

he took part in the

Belgian Antarctic Expedition The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899 was the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region. Led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery aboard the RV ''Belgica'', it was the first Belgian Antarctic expedition and is considered the fir ...

(1897-1899) as assistant meteorologist.

Henryk Arctowski Henryk Arctowski (15 July 1871 – 21 February 1958; ), born Henryk Artzt, was a Polish scientist and explorer. Living in exile for a large part of his life, Arctowski was educated in Belgium and France. He was one of the first humans to wint ...

, who was in charge of physical observations, was initially unsuccessfully in convincing expedition commander

Adrien de Gerlache Baron Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (; 2 August 1866 – 4 December 1934) was a Belgian officer in the Belgian Royal Navy who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99. Early years Born in Hasselt in eastern Belgium as t ...

to take him on, but when the

Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...

had to return to

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

for repairs and the ship's doctor and a sailor quit, he was contracted as a sailor. However, his substantial scientific contributions prompted de Gerlache to formally promote him in March 1898. Arctowski and Dobrowolski were the first to conduct year-round meteorological and hydrographical observations off Antarctica. In addition he studied ice crystallography and light phenomena in ice clouds. These data enabled him to write a monumental treatise on the crystallography of ice and snow. After his return from the Antarctic he obtained a scholarship in Belgium to study his results and collaborated with Georges Lecointe at the

Royal Observatory of Belgium The Royal Observatory of Belgium (; ; ) has been situated in the Uccle municipality of Brussels since 1890. It is part of the institutions of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO). The Royal Observatory was first established in S ...

Later career

In 1907

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

declared amnesty for political refugees, enabling Dobrowolski to return to Warsaw. Until 1914, he worked as a schoolteacher. During the First World War he lived in Sweden, where he studied ice and snow formation. After the war he returned to Poland, where he finished his treatise on the crystallography of ice and snow, ''Natural History of Ice'' ('). The concept of the

cryosphere The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Thus, there ...

can be traced back to this monogram. He also published works on pedagogy and research ethics, while teaching pedagogy at the Polish Free University in Warsaw, and was deeply involved in the organization of education in newly independent Poland. In 1924 he was appointed deputy director, and later director, of the Polish Meteorological Institute in Warsaw. He founded several observatories and the Society of Geophysicists in Warsaw, and actively promoted polar research in Poland. During the second Polar Year (1932-1933) he provided practical help and advice to the Polish expedition that overwintered on Bear Island. He headed the organizing committee of the 1934 Polish expedition to

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...

, and was involved with the 1938 Polish Expedition to

Oscar II Land Oscar II Land is the land area between Isfjorden (Svalbard), Isfjorden and Kongsfjorden on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The long glacier Sveabreen divides Oscar II Land from James I Land. The area is named after Oscar II of Sweden. Older name varian ...

. After the Second World War he pushed for further Polish scientific involvement in Polar research. He died in 1954, without seeing the implementation of his ideas in the Polish participation in the

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; ), also referred to as the third International Polar Year, was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War w ...

. His fellow Polish explorers and scientists regarded him as a "father figure", and he naturally became a center of Polar knowledge. He died in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, aged 81.

Tributes

An occasionally active Polish research station in the Bunger Hills, Dobrowolski Island, Dobrowolski Peak and Dobrowolski Glacier (both on King George Island) are named after him.

References

External links