The article describes the application of the artificial ground freezing method for sinking the shafts of the now-defunct Bach lignite mine in Cybinka (Lubusz Province). It was probably the only instance of such a procedure in lignite mining in Poland. The text presents the origins of this method, patented in 1863 by F.H. Poetsch, and the examples of mines where this technique was implemented, with particular emphasis on the Polish lands. The course of freezing the Bach V and Bach VI shafts and the problems that occurred at the very beginning of their exploitation are described in detail. As a result of errors made during the drilling of freezing holes, both shafts were completely flooded with groundwater. The paper also aims to analyse the causes of this mining disaster.

Interkosmos – the international space research program – is multilayered; it covers a variety of aspects: political, scientific, economic, propaganda, technical, etc. In the article, the authors provide insight into technical support for the Interkosmos program carried out at the Dnepropetrovsk Space and Rocket Center. The engineering background for the conversion of the Center-developed military rocketry for use in space exploration is studied. The authors, relying on the recollections of the participants, reveal the little-known aspects of the creation of a powerful satellite development facility at the Dnepropetrovsk Space and Rocket Center. The article brings into the foreground the importance of KB Yuzhnoye’s idea of developing a ‘unified spacecraft’, meaning a space platform where it was possible to install miscellaneous devices for pursuing a wide range of scientific issues. Using the example of Poland and India, some results obtained during launches of unmanned and manned spacecraft under the Interkosmos program are studied. The participation of the mentioned countries in the creation process of many scientific instruments for implementation of the Interkosmos program and the importance of this research and design direction are accentuated.

The article relies on press reports of provincial doctors published in “Czasopismo Lekarskie” (“Medical Journal”) in the years 1899–1908, and reflects the concerns and problems of the then environment of rural and small-town doctors on the Polish lands. According to the reports, there were two groups of concerns: the first was gaining the trust of the rural people who, for various reasons, at the beginning of the 20th century preferred to get help from quacks, herbalists, healers, and barber-surgeons rather than to seek advice from ‘genuine doctors’. In the period under investigation, the provincial doctor ceased to be a ‘gentlemen’ doctor; thus, their material situation changed radically. The problem was not only numerous visits to distant villages or towns, constant readiness to provide assistance often in extreme situations or work in challenging conditions, but also issues of unfair competition, lack of solidarity between doctors, problems related to non-standardised medical fees, the issue of choosing medicaments (either cheap or expensive), or a great need for cyclical training. This problem was to be dealt with by regional medical societies. The doctor in the province needed to be a specialist in many fields of medicine. Showing incompetence towards a sick peasant was one of the reasons why doctors were losing their authority, but it also undermined confidence in contemporary medicine, thereby pushing the rural population into the hands of quacks and barber-surgeons.

The second issue, closely related to the first one, is the improvement of the provincial doctor’s self-image, which involved constant education and, above all, learning about the psychology and specificity of the behaviour of the rural people. In the press of the period, this topic was brought up by Władysław Biegański, Franciszek Grodecki, Teodor Dunin, Franciszek Wychowski, Antoni Kędzierski, Antoni Troczewski, Witold Chodźko, et al.

Isaac Newton is known primarily as an outstanding mathematician and physicist. Less known are his interests in alchemy, theology, and history. Yet, we still know very little about his interest in engineering and about how he designed and created several scientific instruments (e.g. a variant of the reflecting telescope, a variant of the rotary slide rule). Among them, there is also a navigational octant built by Newton in 1699. This device is an example of an ingenious solution in the field of early modern catadioptrical instruments.

The article is a historical overview of the rich collection of mathematical models stored at the Henri Poincaré Institute in Paris. The text focuses on the three main sources from the end of the nineteenth century and presents some new additions related to today’s mathematics.

The text discusses two vital issues dealt with in the document titled Healthcare Provisions Extracted from the General Ordinance of the Administration and Internal Account for the Polish Armed Forces of all Branches Approved by the Military Committee (1815), namely the nutrition and pharmaceutical supplies for sick and wounded soldiers.

The central part of the article is the account of Jerzy Tomaszewski (1930–2014), a Warsaw historian of economic history, the history of Central Europe of the 20th century, and a pioneer of research on the history of Polish Jews. Tomaszewski gave an account of his research career. In an essential part of the conversation, he recalls his teachers: Profs. Witold Kula and Andrzej Grodek. The conversation also sheds light on the Stalinization of historical science in the first half of the 1950s. Tomaszewski also pointed to the main inspirations and conditions that made him undertake his research. An interesting and little-known thread is Tomaszewski’s cooperation with historians from other Central European countries, including Czechoslovakia, as well as the recollections of the PRL (Polish People’s Republic) restrictions of the freedom of scientific research. The conversation is preceded by a short biography of Jerzy Tomaszewski and a note discussing the origins of this source material.