| Staszic, Stanislaw Ksawery Dr.
Polish natural scientist, philosopher, enlightener, geologist, and mining engineer. He studied secondary school in Poznan and the Universities of Leipzig and Göttingen. In Paris he studied physics and natural science at the “College de France” for two years. He concentrated on geology and mining engineering. He improved his knowledge of these disciplines in Freiberg, Banská Štiavnica, and Vienna. In 1804, he became vice-president of the Academy of Sciences (Towarzystwo Naukowe) in Warsaw and, since 1808, was its chairman. He was in charge of mining and geological research. In 1816, he played important role in foundation of the Mining Academy in Kielce. The fundamental study that made him famous in Polish geology was his monograph 'Ziemiorodstwo Karpatów' (1815). Besides geology of the Carpathians and their foothills, he also investigated and described local geography, geomorphology and mineral deposits, climatology, flora, and fauna. The monograph also includes maps and cross-sections, and summarizes all data on the Carpathians accessible at that time. He also published 'Sur les Mélanites trouvées en Pologne' (1807. Staszic was interested in the Polish geological terminology, popularized natural science, was excellent organizer of geological exploration projects in Poland. For his great merits is often considered the founder of Polish geology.
|
born November 1755, Pile, died 1826, Warsaw
