Andrzej J. Wójcik

During the Age of Enlightenment, many Poles pursued medical studies at various European universities. One of them was Jan Dominik Piotr Jaśkiewicz. Born on 6 July 1749 in Lviv to an Armenian family, he moved to Vienna in the late 1760s to study medicine at the university under the supervision of renowned professors: Anton de Haën, Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz, Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, and others. Jaśkiewicz graduated in 1775 with a Doctor of Medicine degree, based on the thesis titled “Dissertatio inauguralis medica sistens pharmaca regni vegetabilis”, in which he provided a list, description, and healing properties of some plant species, arranged according to the systematics of Carl von Linnè (Linnaeus). Through his dissertation, Jaśkiewicz popularized in Poland the views of the Viennese medical school, among others, on the medical use of digitalis. For some time he remained in Vienna, attempting to secure a suitable position. Between 1780 and 1783, Jaśkiewicz expanded his knowledge of nature through travels to Italy, Germany, and France. After presenting his mineralogical observations in Paris, Jaśkiewicz was appointed as a correspondent member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. It was during this time in Paris that Jaśkiewicz met Jan Śniadecki, who later became his friend, colleague, and patient. Subsequently, Hugo Kołłątaj appointed Jaśkiewicz as a professor of natural history and chemistry at the Crown’s Main School in Kraków (Jagiellonian University). He began his lectures in Kraków on 1 October 1783. It should be emphasized that Jaśkiewicz laid the foundations for Polish scientific vocabulary. He also played a crucial role in establishing a chemical laboratory and organizing a botanical garden and a cabinet of natural history. In February 1783, Jaśkiewicz took on the position of a hospital physician (director) at the St. Barbara Academic Hospital, where he focused on organizing the hospital’s finances and management. Around the same time, he declined additional remuneration for this role. In 1787, Jaśkiewicz assumed the duties of the house physician for the Wielopolski margrave in Pińczów. Jaśkiewicz died in Kraków on 14 November 1809. Throughout his life, he was an active physician and performed his medical career independently of other duties. Jaśkiewicz gained considerable recognition and popularity for his achievements in the medical field.

Research in the field of applied geology (geology of deposits, engineering geology, hydrogeology) at the turn of the 20th century in Siberia, was conducted by the graduates of the Institute of Mining led by Karol Bohdanowicz. The team included, among others, Stefan Czarnocki and Stanisław Doktorowicz-Hrebnicki. Their activity in Siberia became a proof that the so-called “Bohdanowicz’s school” existed and the results of their research have earned their place in the science and have become the basis for developing the mining of mineral resources.