Volume 69, Issue 4

2024

Publication date: 09.12.2024

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Editorial team

Editor-in-Chief Zbigniew Tucholski

Deputy Editors-in-Chief Barbara Bienias, Danuta Ciesielska, Anna Trojanowska

Editorial Assistants Andrzej Skalimowski, Katarzyna Borkowska, Karolina Piszczałka, Maciej Jasiński, Mateusz Marszałkowski, Tomasz Siewierski

Issue content

Articles

Jan Ewangelista Goetz and His Role in the Invention of Modern Lager

Sławomir Dryja

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 4, 2024, pp. 9 - 27

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.032.20682

The article discusses the spread of bottom fermentation technology in brewing and the origins of modern lager, which occurred starting in the 1830s. This process has not been fully explained and is still debated by researchers today. The role played by Jan Ewangelista Goetz (1815–1893) has remained unrecognized until now. He is primarily known as the founder of the brewery in Okocim. After leaving his family village, he worked at the brewery in Klein-Schwechat owned by Anton Dreher (1810–1863), a relative of the Goetz family. He described this period of his life in his diaries, which became part of the family archive after his death. During the occupation, the brewery was placed under German administration. The documents ended up in the possession of German historian Joseph König and were taken to Munich at the war’s end. In 1982, Jan M. Włodek, a relative of the Goetz-Okocimski family, discovered them, brought them to Poland, and added them to the family archive. The contents of the diaries shed new light on the beginnings of the popularization of bottom fermentation. Although the technology appeared to be a novelty, it had been known to brewers as far back as the Middle Ages. The breakthrough came with implementing temperature control using natural ice, which Goetz proposed and introduced at the brewery in Klein-Schwechat. Out of the combination of scientific inventions, such as the saccharimeter or the thermometer, and new technical advancements, a new style emerged that perfectly catered to consumer tastes. Although modern lager was developed in several places, Klein-Schwechat seems to be the most significant.

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Glosa do biografii Anny Wyczółkowskiej

Daniel Kiper

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 4, 2024, pp. 29 - 95

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.033.20683

This article seeks to enhance the biographical portrait of Anna Wyczółkowska (1853–1929), a pioneer of experimental psychological research, a social activist and publicist, and an outstanding figure in the intellectual life of Polish emigrants in the United States. Wyczółkowska was one of the first women to obtain a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Zurich (1893). She then developed her career in the United States, collaborating with, among others, John Watson, the founder of behaviorism. Her biography reflects the experiences of the generation of women from Central and Eastern Europe at the turn of the 20th c. However, Wyczółkowska did not gain wider recognition and was completely forgotten after her death. This text considers the trajectory of her scientific career and the development of her worldview through interactions with the scientific authorities of her era, as well as with writers, artists, and social activists both in Poland and abroad. The article highlights an important yet lesser-known aspect of her activity – her editorial contributions. Source analysis has revealed that Wyczółkowska’s journalistic style significantly enriches certain biographical threads, outlines the social dimension of her scientific achievements, and illuminates the cultural context of her life experiences

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Piotr Lebiedziński (1860–1934). Uzupełnienia do biogramu

Bogusław Kosel

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 4, 2024, pp. 53 - 66

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.034.20684

Piotr Lebiedziński was a Polish chemist educated at the Institute of Technology in Saint Petersburg, professionally associated with Warsaw at the turn of the 20th c. He came from a family with strong patriotic traditions from Podlasie. From the beginning of his career, he demonstrated extraordinary skill in developing new designs and improvements in optical and photographic instruments. He is considered the founder of the Polish photochemical industry and the designer of numerous models of photographic and projection cameras. He gained European fame for developing a specialized camera used to examine the deflection of railway rails and for his work in the field of parapsychology.

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Jedna do teleskopu, druga do zegara. Udział sióstr Kirch w obserwacjach astronomicznych w 1. poł. XVIII w

Justyna Rogińska

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 4, 2024, pp. 67 - 91

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.035.20685

Christina Kirch (1697–1782) and Margaretha Kirch (b. 1703), daughters of astronomer Gottfried Kirch (1639–1710) and Maria Margaretha née Winckelmann (1670–1720), sisters of astronomer Christfried Kirch (1694–1740), continued a family tradition of practicing astronomy, conducting meteorological observations, and making calendars. The article presents the history of the Kirch sisters, from their initial steps in astronomical practice during their parents’ lifetime to being financially supported by the Royal Prussian Society of Sciences after their brother’s death, and Christina’s subsequent role in making calendars for Silesia. The analysis of the stages of the Kirch’s daughters’ introduction to celestial observations is supplemented by examples of the participation of their half-sister Theodora (b. 1683) in auxiliary astronomical works.

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Obiekt I-2. Budowa warszawskiej Elektrociepłowni Żerań w latach 1950–1958

Andrzej Skalimowski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 4, 2024, pp. 93 - 107

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.036.20686

The article discusses the history of the concept, decision-making process and construction of the first stage of the Żerań Heat and Power Plant, one of the most important industrial facilities established during the six-year reconstruction plan for Warsaw (1949–1955). The Heat and Power Plant, built largely according to a Soviet design developed in Leningrad, supplied heat to apartment blocks and provided steam necessary for the operation of Żerań industrial plants, including the Passenger Car Factory. The article is based primarily on archival sources, which allowed for a detailed reconstruction of the individual stages of this economically strategic investment.

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Elektryfikacja miast województwa poznańskiego w okresie międzywojennym

Miron Urbaniak

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 4, 2024, pp. 109 - 131

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.037.20687

During the partitions, electric energy was used in approximately 30 of the 129 towns of the Poznań Province, as the vast majority of towns used various types of gas. However, due to World War I, many gasoline and coal gasworks ceased to exist, and their deficit was compensated by local and small municipal direct current power plants. At the same time, attempts were made to develop a more economical district energy system based on several large plants supplying electricity to neighboring towns and villages. In the 1920s, the concept of electrification of the province was also renewed, based on district power plants and electric power stations of Greater Poland sugar factories, generating alternating current collectively. Nevertheless, until the outbreak of World War II, small power stations predominated in the towns, and the level of advancement of long-distance (district) electrification was low. At the end of 1938, electric energy was used by the population of approximately 65 out of 101 towns in the province.

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Koncepcje żeglugowego obejścia Gdańska w okresie międzywojennym

Zbigniew Zyglewski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 4, 2024, pp. 133 - 168

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.038.2068

Since the establishment of the Second Polish Republic and the Free City Danzig, the Polish side sought to connect the Vistula River to the Polish sea (Gdynia) by waterway, bypassing Gdańsk (Danzig). This issue has not been discussed in the literature, and the current study is primarily based on contemporary articles by water engineers and press reports. As early as 1919, there were ideas to run a water canal from Gniew through Kashubia to the Polish coast and from Tczew, bypassing the border of the Free City of Danzig, to Gdynia. Later, the idea of a canal running from Świecie or Bydgoszcz through Kashubia to Gdynia was born. The latter option was initially developed and discussed in 1937 at conferences held in Gdynia and Grudziądz. The possibility of creating a sea port in Tczew and connecting it to the sea was also considered. The options included deepening the Vistula to allow seagoing ships to navigate the river or constructing a separate sea canal. The canal had to be routed through the Free City of Danzig territory, and its route depended on its mouth on the sea. In the case of an exit in Nowy Port, a canal reaching Gdańsk was planned. The most popular option was the canal route from Tczew to Martwa Wisła, with an exit in either Świbno or Górki. The third method of connecting the Vistula with Gdynia involved using river barges to navigate from Gdańsk to Gdynia through the waters of the Bay of Gdańsk. Proposals were made to adapt river barges for sailing on sea waters, to transport barges on a specially adapted ship, or to build a canal or pier to protect barges navigating at sea. Except for floating barges between Gdańsk and Gdynia, which sailed between these ports on calm days, the remaining solutions were suggestions and visions of engineers. These ideas were very expensive, technically difficult to implement, and remained largely theoretical; nevertheless, they were widely discussed.

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Communications and materials

Średniowieczne rękopisy w zbiorach polskich w świetle projektu Manuscripta.pl

Jacek Soszyński

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 4, 2024, pp. 171 - 197

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.039.20689

The article aims to comprehensively summarize the project ‘Inventory of National Heritage in the Field of Medieval Manuscripts’ (commonly known as Manuscripta.pl) conducted from 2016 to 2023 at the L. & A. Birkenmajer Institute for the History of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences. This project builds upon the tradition of cataloging and examining medieval library manuscripts, which began in Polish scholarship in the 19th c. and has recently benefited significantly from advancements in computer technology, including websites, databases, and digital libraries.

The author discusses earlier initiatives for nationwide medieval manuscript inventories, the origins of the Manuscripta.pl project, its main objectives, and the website created as part of this initiative, along with the database supporting it. The article subsequently describes the methodology and results obtained from the project’s four primary components: (1.) registration of manuscripts, (2.) registration of manuscript fragments preserved in Polish collections, (3.) registration of manuscripts and fragments housed in foreign collections, and (4.) registration of lost manuscripts.

In the course of the project, numerous important discoveries were made. The summary concludes by outlining the prospects for further work on the developed database.

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