Volume 70, Issue 1

2025

Licence: CC BY

Editorial team

Advisory Editors Andrzej Skalimowski, Katarzyna Borkowska, Karolina Piszczałka, Maciej Jasiński, Mateusz Marszałkowski, Tomasz Siewierski

Editorial Assistants Martina Bečvářová, Maria Elvira Callapez, Fanxiang Min, Stefan Poser

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

Editor-in-Chief Zbigniew Tucholski

Issue content

BIOGRAPHICAL LEXICOGRAPHY IN THE AGE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES

Biograficzne słowniki dziedzinowe; przewagi i konieczność

Andrzej Kajetan Wróblewski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 9-12

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21316

PDF

Słownik biograficzny botaników polskich na tle dziejów polskiej biografistyki specjalistów z zakresu nauk o roślinach

Piotr Köhler

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 13-28

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21317

Modern Polish botanical biographical research started with a biography of Carl Linnaeus in Stanisław Bonifacy Jundziłł’s Opisanie roślin (Description of Plants, 1791). Subsequent biographies of botanists can be found in various publications, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, monographs, journals, and anniversary publications (broadly understood), among others. The largest dictionary, which began in the interwar period and continues to be published, is the Polski Słownik Biograficzny (Polish Biographical Dictionary). The 55 volumes published to date contain entries for over 28,500 individuals, including several hundred botanists. In the Słownik biologów polskich (Dictionary of Polish Biologists, 1987), there are over a thousand entries, of which 350 are devoted to botanists. A dozen or so botanists have entire monographs dedicated to them, and numerous biographical notes have been published in journals, though estimating their exact number is difficult. The largest collection was published in “Wiadomości Botaniczne” (“Botanical News”) (about 1,020 entries from 1987 to 2023).

The Słownik biograficzny botaników polskich (Biographical Dictionary of Polish Botanists) was prepared as part of a grant from the National Program for the Development of Humanities in Poland. It contains 1,773 biographical entries with a standardized structure (e.g. basic information, education, career, achievements). The list of entries was available online, allowing anyone to check the progress of the work, report missing names, and correct any identified errors. The biographies were written by specialists. The Biographical Dictionary of Polish Botanists, with its extensive list of entries of standardized structure, serves as a summary of 230 years of botanical biographical research in Poland.

PDF

Słowniki biograficzne historyków. Kilka uwag z perspektywy historyka historiografii

Rafał Stobiecki

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 29-37

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21318

The purpose of this article is to offer some reflections on the existing Polish dictionaries of historians. The author examines their concepts, types, and construction of entries. He tries to answer the question of the usefulness of dictionaries in the age of the Internet and the information revolution. He points out their role in integrating the community, their importance as a tool for learning about the history of historiography, and finally draws attention to their identity function.

PDF

Rola narzędzi cyfrowych w przetwarzaniu i udostępnianiu biogramów postaci historycznych

Maria Guzik-Jureczka, Piotr Jaskulski, Adam Zapała

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 39-54

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21319

The dynamic growth of biographical research in recent years, both in traditional and digital forms, has led to an immense increase in available data but has also created the problem of repeated information about the same figures appearing in various works. This often forces researchers to search through dozens of biographical entries and databases to obtain a complete picture of a person’s life, which is time-consuming and creates interpretative challenges. This article proposes the use of digital methods, including the FAIR principles, Linked Open Data (LOD) standards, and Large Language Models (LLMs), to facilitate the access, exchange, and reuse of biographical data. It discusses methods that allow for the harmonization and integration of biographical data with reference databases, as well as solutions that enable browsing and sharing information from large text corpora using artificial intelligence and chatbot interfaces. The study also highlights the changes introduced by digital research methods, such as the separation of content from form and the possibility of diverse visualization of data, along with the need for researchers to change their way of thinking to align with the principles of open science.

PDF

Słowniki biograficzne – źródła z XIX i XX wieku w Archiwum Narodowym w Krakowie

Kamila Follprecht

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 55-69

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21320

Biographical dictionaries may seem outdated, yet they remain indispensable sources of reliable knowledge that can verify the results of Internet search engines. The resources of the State Archives, including the National Archives in Krakow, enable the retrieval and verification of information found in biographical entries. The primary sources are civil status records (parish records of baptism, marriages, and deaths), supplemented by documentation kept by the Health Office of the City of Krakow. Useful for establishing connections to Krakow are the city’s population censuses (1847–1921, conducted every 10 years) and those of Podgórze (1857–1910, which became part of Krakow in 1915), as well as printed lists of officials and Krakow’s address books. Additional helpful resources include the incomplete documentation related to the population register during the interwar period, court inheritance and guardianship records, records from secondary schools, and personnel files of employees of offices, institutions, and companies which employed individuals with higher education. An unexpected source of information on the beginnings of scientific activity in Galicia may be the estate archives, which contain, among other things, memoirs and translations from foreign languages.

PDF

Nota, biogram, życiorys… W stronę idealnego słownika biograficznego

Cezary W. Domański

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 71-85

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21321

One of the fundamental forms of describing human life is through biographical entries, which are typically included in biographical dictionaries. These dictionaries can vary in nature: they may include biographies of individuals from a specific territorial unit (generally referred to as ‘national dictionaries’) or regions and cities. Another type includes specialized dictionaries, which cover representatives of a specific field, scientific discipline, profession or passion (e.g. travelers) or those associated with a particular school or university. The possibilities for thematically compiling biographies into biographical dictionaries are vast. The article explores the concept of a biographical dictionary that could serve as a valuable source of knowledge about the lives and achievements of historical figures, potentially forming the foundation for biographical monographs.

PDF

Articles

Mykoła Szarlemań i polowania Andronika I – rewizja. Przyczynek do historii ukraińskiej zoologii

Karol Kollinger

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 98-101

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21322

The paper presents the results of a reevaluation of Mykola Charleman’s views on the distinction between the names tur (the aurochs) and żubr (the European bison), as well as his claim that the latter name came to designate the European bison after the extinction of the aurochs. Charleman based his argument on evidence from the Old Rus’ Latopis and a Byzantine chronicle describing events from the mid-12th c. However, a critical review of the sources has led to the rejection of the Ukrainian zoologist’s claims. An analysis of related publications and correspondence sheds light on how and when the researcher made this error. The paper further illustrates how scholars from various disciplines uncritically adopted Charleman’s flawed conclusions. Finally, the study calls for new, critical analyses of Niketas Choniates’s History, emphasizing the importance of a critical approach to evaluating the work of our predecessors.

PDF

Poziomowanie linii spławnej na Kanale Augustowskim – analiza systemu śluz

Karol Łopatecki, Adam Musiuk

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 103-124

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21323

The year 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the commencement of construction work on the Augustów Canal. This anniversary invites us to reflect on the current state of knowledge concerning the creation of one of the most interesting hydraulic engineering projects of the first half of the 19th c. This complex has survived to the present day and, as a historical monument, is considered one of the most valuable technical monuments in Poland. In this article, we would like to address several issues related to the process of geodetic determination of ground ordinates. In cartographic terms, we presented the types of maps that had the level drawing needed to determine the route of the canal and the heights of the surrounding lakes. They testify to the use of trigonometric levelling and are an important testimony to the cartographic and engineering skills involved in the process of route reconnaissance, planning and construction of the aforementioned canal.

The research method was to collect period data on the drop heights (water level differences) occurring at each lock. After converting them into metric data, we compared them to the currently collected material. It turns out that the total drop from Dębowo sluice to Niemnowo sluice was 59.09 metres, which is more than three metres higher than today. These calculations show the efforts of the builders and engineers who connected the Narew River with the Nemunas along 174.2 km of the canal. These calculations also allow us to assess the value of the retrogressive method often used in historical research.

PDF

Disciplinary Proceedings against Warsaw Astronomers Michał Kamieński and Maciej Bielicki for Their Activities During World War II

Radosław Poleski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 125-148

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21324

I present post-World War II disciplinary proceedings against two astronomers from the University of Warsaw: Michał Kamieński and Maciej Bielicki. They both requested such proceedings, but the de facto accuser was another astronomer, Jan Gadomski. I also discuss the related topic of appointing Kamieński’s successor as the director of the University of Warsaw Astronomical Observatory and some side topics found in the documents pertaining to the disciplinary proceedings.

PDF

Sawa Frydman i Czesław Nowiński – żywoty całkowicie nierównoległe. Szkic do dziejów środowiska naukowego epoki stalinizmu

Andrzej Zawistowski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 149-163

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21325

The article is devoted to Sawa Frydman/Czesław Nowiński – a lawyer, philosopher and would-be economist. Before World War II, he worked at the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius. After 1945, he built a career in the state administration, while also actively working to integrate Polish science within frameworks based on Soviet solutions. The culmination of his career was being tasked with establishing an economic school aimed at educating in the socialist economy.

PDF

Polemics and controversies

Pierwsza biografia gubińskiego astronoma. Kilka uwag na marginesie książki Gottfried Kirch (1639–1710) – Astronom, Kalendermacher, Pietist, Frühaufklärer

Justyna Rogińska

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 167-192

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21326

Klaus-Dieter Herbst, Gottfried Kirch (1639–1710) – Astronom, Kalendermacher, Pietist, Frühaufklärer, Jena 2022 (Acta Calendariographica – Forschungsberichte, t. 10), ss. 737.

The first biography devoted to Gottfried Kirch (1639–1710), an astronomer from Gubin, a calendar-maker and author of ephemerides, was published in 2022. It is the result of many years of research on Kirch by Klaus-Dieter Herbst. The book presents the astronomer’s life and explores the various stages of his career. In addition to the biographical details and reconstruction of Kirch’s network, Herbst focuses on two key areas of the protagonist’s work: astronomy and calendars. In this article, I examine a few minor shortcomings in Herbst’s interpretation of Kirch’s observation journal and suggest several additions and emendations that could be considered for the book’s second edition.

PDF

REVIEW ESSAYS

Klement Lukeš, czyli jak zostać dysydentem w Czechosłowacji

Bartosz Kaliski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 195-207

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.25.001.21327

Pavel Kosatík, Zápasy slepého muže. Život a doba komunisty Klementa Lukeše, Praha 2023, ss. 191 + 32 nlb.

Pavel Kosatík’s Zápasy slepého muže. Život a doba komunisty Klementa Lukeše [Struggles of a Blind Man: The Life and Times of Communist Klement Lukeš] (Prague 2023) is focused on a figure who did not play a decisive role in Czechoslovak history after World War II. However, Klement Lukeš (1926–2000), a blind member of the Communist Party, and an employee of its ‘ideological front’, occupied a separate place on the intellectual map of Czechoslovak communism. He joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during his studies, but by the age of thirty, he was considered a revisionist, an opponent of the Soviet (i.e. Stalinist) model of communism and, in consequence, of the party leadership. Lukeš was inspired by Hungarian and Yugoslav social, economic, and political solutions. He was deprived of party membership twice (in 1961 and 1970). After the suppression of the Prague Spring, Lukeš became a dissident, a member of the democratic opposition, and a publisher of samizdat. He was also a signatory of the Charter 77 declaration. This review article offers high praise for Kosatík’s biography of Lukeš.

PDF